Pakistan hit with 19pc tariff as Trump targets dozens of countries with new duties
Brazil-50%, India-25%, and Canada-35%, hit with highest US tariffs
Pakistan will face a 19 per cent tariff on its exports to the United States, according to an executive order issued as US President Donald Trump’s tariff deadline ends August 1.
The revised tariff for Pakistan, down from the previous 29pc, was announced a day after the US and Pakistan finalised a trade agreement in Washington.
Yesterday, a new deal between the United States and Pakistan for the joint development of Pakistan’s oil reserves was announced by Donald Trump.
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump stated: “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.”
As The Express Tribune reported earlier, Field Marshal Asim Munir’s meeting with Trump and the Pakistani negotiators’ proactive approach ahead of the August 1 deadline had initially played a role in securing a better deal. Pakistan’s chief negotiator, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, had described it as a “real win-win deal” for both countries, saying it protected Pakistani exports from steeper retaliatory tariffs
Pakistan gained relative advantage over several regional neighbours under the new US tariff regime, with its 19% rate lower than India’s 25%, Bangladesh’s 20%, Iraq’s 35%, Vietnam’s 20%, and Indonesia’s 19%.
Trump imposed an August 1 deadline for dozens of nations to strike trade deals with the US or face tariffs heightened well above the 10% baseline he had already rolled out.
According to the executive order, Trump set rates including a 35% duty on many goods from Canada, 50% for Brazil, 25% for India, 20% for Taiwan and 39% for Switzerland.
The order listed higher import duty rates of 10% to 41% starting in seven days for 69 trading partners as of 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) deadline approached.
Some of them had reached tariff-reducing deals; others had no opportunity to negotiate with his administration. Trump included an exception for some goods shipped within the coming week.
Goods from all other countries not listed would be subject to a 10% US import tax. Trump had previously said that rate might be higher.
The administration also teased that more trade deals were in the pipeline as it seeks to close trade deficits and boost domestic factories.
Facing a Friday deadline of his making, the Republican president has tapped emergency powers, pressured foreign leaders, and pressed ahead with trade policies that sparked a market sell-off when they were first announced in April.
