Trump seals trade deal with Pakistan, hints at partnership that may impact India ties

While posting on social media, US President Donald Trump also wondered if  Pakistan in future could probably sell oil to India. 

Trump, while addressing the issue on his social media account, said that, “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."

The US President further added that, "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!”

Considering the fact that Pakistan has been claiming to have large oil deposits along its coast, the point that the US President is making might seem to be valid. While Pakistan claims to have oil deposits, it is also noticeable that no progress has yet been made to tap those deposits. However, they have been trying to lure in investments to tap into these reserves.

Pakistan, despite claiming that they have large oil deposits, currently imports oil from the Middle East to meet its energy demands, making the scenario even more cluttered. 

Soon after the US President's post on social media, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also took to social media on Thursday to thank Trump over the ‘historic’ trade agreement and expressed hope that it would expand cooperation between the two sides.

The Pakistani Prime Minister, while posting on social media platform X, said that “I wish to convey my profound thanks to President Trump @realDonaldTrump for his leadership role in the finalisation of the historic US-Pakistan trade agreement, successfully concluded by our two sides in Washington last night.

This landmark deal will enhance our growing cooperation so as to expand the frontiers of our enduring partnership in days to come.”

As per the reports from PTI, the deal was reached during a meeting between Pakistan's Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer in Washington, DC, according to Radio Pakistan.

The trade deal between the two nations also suggests that the trade agreement aims at boosting bilateral trade, expanding market access, attracting investment, and fostering cooperation in areas of mutual interest, as per PTI. 

The post from the Pakistani Prime Minister also highlighted that “the agreement will result in a reduction of reciprocal tariffs, especially on Pakistani exports to the United States. This deal marks the beginning of a new era of economic collaboration, especially in energy, mines and minerals, IT, cryptocurrency, and other sectors.”

The announcement came hours after Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on all goods coming from India, plus an additional unspecified penalty for purchases of Russian military equipment and energy.

Earlier in a social media post, Trump called India's trade policies "most strenuous and obnoxious.”
Trump also said, “All things are not good! India will therefore be paying a tariff of 25 percent, plus a penalty for the above, starting on August first," on social media. 

Furthermore, during the day, he spoke multiple times about the tariffs that India imposes and referred to India's membership in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) grouping, which he described as "anti-US."

(With inputs from PTI)

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