Trump says Pakistan's representatives coming to US next week for trade talks

WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that 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.

“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 to bullets. You know, normally they do it through bullets. We do it through trade. So I’m very proud of that. Nobody talks about it. But we had a very nasty potential war going on between Pakistan and India. And now, if you look, they’re doing fine,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews after departing Air Force One.

“Pakistani representatives are coming in next week. We’re very close to making a deal with India,” he stated.

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.

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.