US President Donald Trump has said that a trade deal with India could be signed soon, and that a Pakistani representative will visit Washington next week for talks, according to the Economic Times.
Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Friday, "A representative from Pakistan is coming next week. That's what our deal with India is." However, he warned that if there is another conflict between India and Pakistan, the talks could be disrupted. In his words, "If they go to war, I have no interest in making a deal with anyone."
India will open its government procurement market to US companies, Reuters reported. If implemented, the initiative will allow US companies to participate in government contracts worth more than $50 billion from Indian central agencies. It is part of ongoing trade talks with Washington.
Trump had previously claimed that US trade talks with India and Pakistan had helped prevent a nuclear catastrophe. He said, "When we talk about trade, we say, 'You can't trade with countries that are shooting at each other and have nuclear weapons.' They understood that and agreed. So it all stopped."
Meanwhile, the tariffs imposed by Trump on goods from various countries around the world could also affect Pakistani exports, especially given Pakistan's $3 billion trade surplus with the United States. Trump imposed a 29 percent tariff on Pakistani goods.
In this context, Indian Union Minister Piyush Goyal recently visited Washington again for bilateral trade talks. Both countries want to sign an interim agreement in early July. On April 2, Trump's retaliatory tariffs imposed on Indian goods of up to 26 percent.
