The United States and Pakistan announced a major trade and energy agreement

President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the United States has reached a new trade agreement with Pakistan, focused on the joint development of the Asian country's oil reserves and on the reduction of tariffs that had so far affected Pakistani exports.

The news was published by Trump on his social network Truth Social, where he highlighted Pakistan's energy potential and revealed that both nations are in the process of selecting the American oil company that will lead the exploration.

"We've concluded an agreement with Pakistan to develop its enormous oil reserves. Who knows, maybe someday they'll sell oil to India!" wrote Trump, adding that this partnership is part of a series of agreements aimed at reducing the U.S. trade deficit.

The announcement comes after last Friday's meeting between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pakistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ishaq Dar. In that meeting, Dar had already anticipated that an agreement with the United States was "very close," although no specific timeline was offered at that time.

Finally, this Thursday, both countries confirmed the pact, which Islamabad described as "the beginning of a new era of economic collaboration", with emphasis on sectors such as energy, mining, information technologies, cryptocurrencies, and others.

According to Pakistan's Ministry of Finance, the agreement includes a mutual reduction of tariffs, especially on Pakistani products exported to the United States, although the exact rates were not specified.

Before the agreement, Islamabad faced the threat of a 29% tariff that, as in the case of other countries, was temporarily suspended until August 1 to allow for negotiation. Pakistan aimed to secure a rate lower than that of its regional competitors, such as Vietnam (20%) and India (25%).

Pakistan keeps a trade surplus of approximately USD 3 billion with the United States, driven mainly by its textile exports. In fact, the United States is the largest buyer of Pakistani textiles, which makes the tariff reduction especially significant for Islamabad.

In parallel with the announcement with Pakistan, Trump also commented on the fruitful negotiations with South Korea, with whom he agreed to reduce a 25% tariff on products imported into the United States.

Trump indicated that other countries are also submitting proposals to reduce their tariffs and described these negotiations as part of his strategy to significantly decrease the U.S. trade deficit. "All of this will help reduce our trade deficit in a very significant way," he stated.

From Islamabad, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb confirmed that the agreement with Washington goes beyond immediate trade, and that its objective is to link trade with investment and strategic cooperation. In recorded statements, Aurangzeb emphasized that this new stage in the relationship seeks to consolidate a deeper economic and diplomatic alliance.

Although Pakistan's proven conventional oil reserves are modest (between 234 and 353 million barrels), the country has technically recoverable shale resources estimated at 9.1 billion barrels, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Pakistan has not yet developed this industry, and its high dependence on oil imports, USD 11.3 billion in the last fiscal year, makes this agreement a key strategic move.

At the geopolitical level, the pact also reflects Washington's interest in reducing Pakistan's dependence on China. In recent years, the relationship between the United States and Islamabad had cooled, especially after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and accusations that Pakistan supported the Taliban, something the Pakistani government has denied.