In a recent media interview, US President Donald Trump shared that a Pakistan delegation is set to visit the US to proceed with a trade agreement. This comes hours after he claimed credit, yet again, of his role in the India-Pak ceasefire agreement. He shared that, “Pakistan representatives are coming in next week. We’re very close to making a deal with India. And I wouldn’t have any interest in making a deal with either if they were going to be at war with each other…”

Pakistan could be hit with a 29% tariff on its exports to the United States, following a $3 billion trade surplus with the U.S., as part of a broader set of tariffs imposed by Washington last month on multiple countries. On the other hand, India faces 26% tariffs on shipments to the US.

As revealed by a Reuters report, India is expected to permit U.S. companies to compete for contracts exceeding $50 billion, primarily from central government agencies, as part of its ongoing trade negotiations with Washington. However, the 90-day tariff pause has seen multiple negotiations from global players making way for a common ground following Trump’s tariff frenzy.

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The Pakistan Delegation

The delegation is set to include key business figures and leading exporters, reflecting the government’s intent to engage stakeholders in shaping a mutually beneficial path forward for both US and Pakistan. With increasing global tensions between India and Pakistan after Operation Sindoor, US plays the role of the mediator ironically dangling trade incentives which they earlier denied using to “avert a full-scale war”.

Even after negation from the Indian External Affairs Ministry, Trump continues to claim credit for stopping India and Pakistan from enabling nuclear forces. “I think the deal I’m most proud of is the fact that we’re dealing with India, we’re dealing with Pakistan, and we were able to stop potentially a nuclear war through trade as opposed through bullets…we did it through trade.”