Trump Announces US-Pakistan Oil Deal Amid India Trade Tensions

New York/Washington, Jul 31 (PTI) — US President Donald Trump has announced a significant trade agreement with Pakistan, indicating that Washington will collaborate with Islamabad to develop the country's purported "massive oil reserves," though the specific reserves Trump referred to remain unclear.

In a social media post on Truth Social, President Trump even speculated about Pakistan potentially selling oil to India in the future. "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 declared. "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!" he added.

As of yet, there has been no immediate response from Pakistan regarding the trade agreement with the US. Currently, Pakistan relies on oil imports from the Middle East to satisfy its energy needs. However, there have been unconfirmed reports about substantial offshore deposits that remain largely untapped due to Pakistan's lack of technical expertise and financial resources. The nation is actively seeking investments to exploit these potential reserves.

This announcement came just a few hours after President Trump bolstered existing trade tensions with India by imposing a 25 percent tariff on all Indian exports to the US, along with an additional penalty related to India's procurement of Russian military equipment and energy. In his social media post, Trump criticized India’s trade policies, referring to them as "most strenuous and obnoxious." "All things not good! India will therefore be paying a tariff of 25 per cent, plus a penalty for the above, starting on August first," Trump stated.

Additionally, Trump spoke multiple times about the tariffs and criticized India's membership in the BRICS group—comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—which he described as "anti-US." Addressing ongoing negotiations with India, Trump asserted, "We're negotiating with India right now," while calling India's tariffs "one of the highest tariffs in the world."

The US President revealed that the White House is actively engaged in trade negotiations, including a meeting with a South Korean trade delegation. "Likewise, 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," Trump said.

India expressed that it has "taken note" of Trump's statement on bilateral trade, clarifying that the government is examining its implications. The Indian government stated, "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. We remain committed to that objective."

President Trump has set August 1 as the date for his newly announced tariffs to come into effect.