US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that the United States has struck a trade deal with Pakistan to jointly develop the country’s vast oil reserves.
Announcing the development on Truth Social, Trump said the move could eventually lead to Pakistan exporting oil to India.
Trump’s remark comes after he announced a 25 per cent tariff plus penalties on India, set to take effect tomorrow, August 1. He cited India’s continued oil trade with Russia and existing trade restrictions as a major factor behind the decision.
Trump said his administration is “very busy” in the White House working on trade deals. “I have spoken to the Leaders of many Countries, all of whom want to make the United States ‘extremely happy’, ” Trump said in his Truth Social post.
He further said that his administration was in the process of selecting an oil company to lead the US-Pakistan energy partnership.
“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 said.
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“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 someday!” he added.
Last week, Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that the two countries were “very close” to a trade deal that could come within days, after he met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday.
In separate statements, the US State Department and Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said the two top diplomats stressed the significance of expanding trade and boosting cooperation in critical minerals and mining.
In the same post, Trump also said that he would be meeting a trade delegation from South Korea to negotiate the tariffs.
“South Korea is right now at a 25% Tariff, but they have an offer to buy down those Tariffs. I will be interested in hearing what that offer is,” he said.
