By Kanishka Singh, Asif Shahzad and Ariba Shahid
WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -The United States and Pakistan said they had clinched a deal that Islamabad described as leading to lower tariffs on its exports, while President Donald Trump trumpeted a pact to help develop the South Asian nation’s oil reserves.
Neither mentioned the tariff rate agreed.
Pakistan, which Washington has designated a “major non-NATO ally” in its effort to counter rival China’s influence in the region, faced a potential tariff of 29% declared in April that was later suspended for 90 days to allow trade talks.
“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 on social media.
“We are in the process of choosing the Oil Company that will lead this Partnership.”
He gave no further details.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also confirmed the deal. “Deal concluded,” he told Reuters, without elaborating.
Although Trump did not mention a tariff deal, Pakistan’s finance ministry said on Thursday it would lead to “reduction of reciprocal tariffs, especially on Pakistani exports to the United States”, but stopped short of revealing the figure.
“This deal marks the beginning of a new era of economic collaboration especially in energy, mines and minerals, IT, cryptocurrency and other sectors,” it said.
The deal was a win-win situation for both nations, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, who led the final round of talks in Washington, said in video remarks.
“From our perspective, it was always going beyond the immediate trade imperative, and its whole purpose was, and is, that trade and investment have to go hand in hand,” he added in the statement from his office.
Last week, Dar said both nations were “very close” to a trade deal that could come within days, after he met Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday.
They discussed expanding trade and ties in critical minerals and mining, the two sides said afterwards. Other Pakistani officials have also visited for talks in recent weeks.
Under Trump, Washington has sought to renegotiate trade deals with many countries which he threatened with tariffs for trade relations he calls unfair, a characterization many economists dispute.
U.S. total goods trade with Pakistan was an estimated $7.3 billion in 2024, the office of the U.S. trade representative says on its website, up from about $6.9 billion in 2023.
