WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday representatives from Pakistan are coming to the United States next week as the South Asian country seeks to make a deal on tariffs.
Pakistan faces a potential 29% tariff on its exports to the United States due to a $3 billion trade surplus with the world's biggest economy, under tariffs announced by Washington last month on countries around the world.
Trump said he would have no interest in making a deal with the South Asian country or its neighbor, India, if they were to engage in war with each other. The two nuclear-armed rivals used fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery in four days of clashes this month, their worst fighting in decades.
"As you know, we're very close making a deal with India," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews after departing Air Force One.
Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal visited Washington recently to advance trade talks, with both sides aiming to sign an interim agreement by early July.
India faces 26% tariffs on shipments to the U.S.
Reuters reported last week that India is likely to allow U.S. firms to bid for contracts worth over $50 billion, mainly from federal entities, as it negotiates a trade deal with Washington.
Also Read: Pakistan proposes zero-tariff bilateral trade agreement to United States
The US President once again claimed the credit for brokering ceasefire between Pakistan and India, asserting that he used trade as a negotiation tactic.
Trump said the two nations that his administration cannot trade with people that are shooting at each other.
"We stopped Pakistan and India from fighting. I believe that could have turned out into a nuclear disaster," Trump said during a press conference in the Oval Office with billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is leaving the Trump administration after helming the Department of Government Efficiency.
Trump added that he wants to thank the leaders of Pakistan, the leaders of India, and I want to thank my people also. We talked trade and we said we can't trade with people that are shooting at each other and potentially using nuclear weapons'.
Trump said that leaders in Pakistan and India are great leaders and they understood, and they agreed, and that all stopped.
"We are stopping others from fighting also, because ultimately, we can fight better than anybody. We have the greatest military in the world. We have the greatest leaders in the world," Trump said.
On May 13, Trump said that maybe India and Pakistan can have a "nice dinner together" while stating that his administration brokered the "historic ceasefire" between the two countries through trade.
"They are actually getting along. Maybe we can even get them together where they go out and have a nice dinner together. Wouldn't that be nice?", Trump said at the Saudi Arabia-US Investment Forum 2025 in his visit to the West-Asian nation.
"We've come a long way. Millions of people could have died from that conflict that started off small and was getting bigger and bigger by the day," Trump added.
Trump also took credit for brokering the India-Pakistan conflict through the means of trade, praising the Prime Ministers of both countries. "Just days ago, my administration successfully brokered a historic ceasefire to stop the escalating violence between India and Pakistan, and I used trade to a large extent to do (that)," Trump said.
"I said, fellas, come on, let's make a deal. Let's do some trading. let's not trade nuclear missiles. Let's trade the things that you make so beautifully. And they both have very powerful, strong, good and smart leaders," he added.