After ‘massive reserves’ oil trade deal, Donald Trump slaps 19% tariffs on Pakistan – Alfaaz – The Words

New Delhi: A day after announcing a “landmark energy partnership” with Pakistan, US President Donald Trump imposed a 19% tariff on Pakistani goods on Friday. The move comes as part of the expansion plan of Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariff, announced via an executive order on Thursday.

The updated tariffs, which cover dozens of countries, are scheduled to take effect in seven days, on August 7, at 12:01am Washington time.

While Pakistan had previously been subject to a steep 29% duty, the final list released Thursday shows the South Asian nation’s tariff rate lowered to 19% after striking a last-minute trade deal with Washington.

On Tuesday, Trump touted a preliminary deal with Pakistan focused on the joint development of what he called the country’s “massive oil reserves.”

He shared the news on his platform, Truth Social, calling the agreement “a significant beginning” to what he envisioned as a long-term US-Pakistan energy partnership.

It is not immediately clear what massive oil reserves Trump was referring to in Pakistan. Trump also made no mention of tariffs in his announcement.

While details remain scarce, Trump said both countries would cooperate to tap unexplored reserves and floated the idea of Pakistan eventually exporting oil to India.

“We are in the process of choosing the oil company that will lead this partnership,” Trump added, without naming any specific firms or timelines.

As part of the deal, Pakistan agreed to import US crude oil, marking a major shift in its long-standing dependence on Middle Eastern energy suppliers.

Pakistan’s largest refiner, Cnergyico, will import 1 million barrels of oil from American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude from global commodity trader Vitol in October, its vice chairman, Usama Qureshi, told Reuters on Friday.