Pakistan, US seal trade deal
The United States struck a trade deal with Pakistan, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, hours after announcing 25 tariffs on imports from India in addition to unspecified "penalty" over New Delhi's purchases of Russian weapons and energy.
Trump said that the deal with Pakistan included joint development of the country's "massive" oil reserves. The announcement came as talks continue with other nations, including South Korea, ahead of his self-imposed August 1 deadline.
"We have just concluded a Deal with the Country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive Oil Reserves," Trump wrote in post on his social media platform of 'Truth Social'.
"We are in the process of choosing the Oil Company that will lead this Partnership. Who knows, maybe they'll be selling Oil to India some day!" the US president wrote in his post, without giving additional details of the deal.
Trump said that his administration was "very busy in the White House today working on Trade Deals." He said: "I have spoken to the Leaders of many Countries, all of whom want to make the United States 'extremely happy.' I will be meeting with the South Korean Trade Delegation this afternoon."
Trump imposed an August 1 deadline for dozens of nations to strike trade deals with the US or face tariffs heightened well above the 10% baseline he had already rolled out. In a separate announcement, Trump said that the August 1 deadline "stands strong, and will not be extended."
Trump also announced 25% tariffs on imports from India, saying Indian tariffs were "among the highest in the World" and that New Delhi had "the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country."
The 25% tariff would be marginally lower than the rate announced in April, but is higher than those of other Asian countries. India was one of the first major economies to engage the Trump administration, but its reluctance to fully open its agricultural and other sectors prevented a deal, so far.
"Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country," Trump said on Wednesday morning.
He added that India has "always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia's largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE." In addition to the 25% tariff, India will face "a penalty for the above," Trump said.
Later in the day, he told reporters that talks on the tariffs were ongoing and "we'll see what happens," but he did not elaborate on the penalty. in response the Indian government said that it's studying the implications of Trump's tariffs announcement.
India and the US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a "fair, balanced and mutually beneficial" bilateral trade agreement over the last few months, and New Delhi remains committed to that objective, India's Trade Ministry said in a statement.
The US president has so far reached agreements with the UK, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan and the European Union, though details on many of the deals remain scant with the White House acknowledging that some require further negotiations.
Trump sounded an optimistic note that a deal will be reached with China, which was given until August 12 to reach an agreement. "We're doing fine with China. I think it's going to work out very well. I think we're going to have a very fair deal with China," he said.
"Other Countries are making offers for a Tariff reduction. All of this will help reduce our Trade Deficit in a very major way. A full report will be released at the appropriate time. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump said.
Meanwhile, Trump shocked markets with scaled-back 50% tariff on copper pipes and wiring, dragging down US copper prices more than 17% on the Comex exchange and unwound a premium over the London global benchmark that had grown in recent weeks.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
10 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
US stocks up as market shrugs off tariff increases
NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks rose early Thursday, extending an upward run as markets shrugged off a spate of fresh US tariff increases that went into effect at midnight. Under a White House policy that had been telegraphed, import duties rose from 10 percent to levels between 15 percent and 41 percent for a list of trading partners. About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4 percent at 44,361.65. The broad-based S&P 500 climbed 0.5 percent to 6,379.11, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.9 percent to 21,357.96, above its all-time closing record. Wall Street boosted by earnings, Fed rate cut hopes In the last day alone, US President Donald Trump has also announced higher tariffs on India and 100-percent levy on semiconductor companies that don't build in the United States. But investors have been embracing a view that the US economy remains on solid footing and that the impact of levies has not been as bad as feared. 'The chip tariffs certainly sound terrible on the headline,' said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers. 'But there's so many exemptions … so it's perceived to be having so many loopholes that it's not bad news.' Investor mood 'has been relentlessly positive, interpreting the news flow like a glass half-full day,' Sosnick said. The early gains on Wall Street came as the Bank of England cut its key interest rate by a quarter point to four percent, the lowest level in 2.5 years. Among individual companies, Intel dropped 1.3 percent as Trump called on the chipmaker's CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, to resign after a Republican Senator raised national security concerns over his links to firms in China. Eli Lilly plunged 13.1 percent despite reporting a near-doubling of profits on higher revenues. The drugmaker also released results of clinical testing of a weight loss pill that looked positive 'on the surface,' but indicated less impact than candidates by other companies, said
Business Recorder
an hour ago
- Business Recorder
Russia allows transfers from foreigners' blocked accounts as part of asset swaps
MOSCOW: Russia's central bank has tweaked its rules for non-residents, allowing foreigners' funds from special type-C accounts to pass to Russian investors when involved in the exchange of assets, a move that could free up blocked capital in Russia and abroad. In response to Western sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which froze around $300 billion of Russia's sovereign assets in Western jurisdictions, Moscow started diverting foreign-owned funds in Russia to type-C accounts, access to which is blocked unless Moscow grants a waiver. 'Funds from a type-C bank account, opened for a non-resident, can be deducted for the purpose of implementing … transfers by order of a non-resident … in favour of a resident in order to fulfil obligations,' the central bank said in a note. Russia central bank says current account surplus in January-April at $21.1bn Such transfers are permitted on the basis that the assets are being blocked abroad due to the 'unfriendly actions of foreign states', the central bank specified. All transactions require approval from the government commission on foreign assets. The central bank stressed that the changes do not create new forms of exchanging assets. The central bank's update merely confirms that non-residents can make payments from type-C accounts, in addition to transferring blocked Russian shares, said Grigory Marinichev, a lawyer at Morgan Lewis. 'It remains unclear, however, what immediate benefit this presents for the non-resident, given that they would still be acquiring blocked securities in Euroclear, which may require separate action for unblocking or may remain restricted for an indefinite period,' Marinichev said. The central bank has previously told Reuters that it is constantly working on solving problems with blocked assets.
Business Recorder
an hour ago
- Business Recorder
Trump demands new US census excluding undocumented immigrants
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered officials to work on a new census excluding undocumented immigrants, as the White House presses Republican states to draw more favorable voter maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Trump called for a 'new and highly accurate' census that he wanted based on 'modern day facts and figures' gleaned from the 2024 election. 'People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS,' he said in the social media post. The US Constitution since 1790 has required a census every 10 years that counts the 'whole number of persons in each state' – including people in the country illegally. The next one is not due until 2030, although preparations for the enormous task are already underway. US terminates legal status for 500,000 immigrants Trump did not make clear if he was referring to the regularly scheduled population count in 2030 or an earlier survey. The census is used to determine how members of Congress are elected, and the Pew Research Center estimates that ignoring unauthorized migrants in 2020 would have deprived California, Florida and Texas of one House seat each. It is also used for apportioning votes in the state-by-state 'electoral college' that decides presidential elections and for allocating trillions of dollars in federal funding. Trump attempted similar moves in his first term but was blocked by the Supreme Court from adding a citizenship question to the census. The court declined to rule on whether the millions of people in the country without legal status can be excluded for the first time. Adding a citizenship question would likely undermine the accuracy of the country's population counts, a March study in the Journal of Policy Management and Analysis showed. Experts believe it would discourage households with Latino and Asian American residents from self reporting. Trump's call for a new census comes with state-level lawmakers and officials in Texas locking horns over proposals for a new electoral map that would likely net Republicans up to five extra House seats in next year's midterms. Republican governors in several other states are exploring new maps ahead of the 2026 elections in a bid to protect the party's razor-thin majority in the House, which would flip with three Democratic gains. Democrats have vowed to retaliate with their own proposals, possibly in New York and California, the country's largest states.
