KARACHI: Pakistan is considering importing crude oil from the United States for the first time to offset a trade imbalance that triggered higher US tariffs, according to a government source directly involved with the proposal and a refinery executive.
Countries are scrambling to find ways to lower their US tariff burdens, including buying more US oil and gas, as President Donald Trump’s sweeping import duties rattle economies and markets.
“It is one of the products being reviewed ahead of a delegation leaving for the US to talk about tariffs,” said a government source directly involved with the proposal to the prime minister to buy more US crude.
“It is under active consideration. We are exploring opportunities and the structure to do it, but the PM has to approve it,” he said.
Trump has imposed a 10 percent baseline tariff on all imports to the US and higher duties on dozens of other countries. Pakistan faces a 29 percent tariff due to a trade surplus with the US of about $3 billion, although that is subject to the 90-day pause Trump announced last week.
The refinery executive told Reuters that the idea is to buy US crude equivalent to Pakistan’s current imports of oil and refined products, or about $1 billion of oil.
The sources declined to be named as the proposal is in its preliminary stage.
Pakistan’s petroleum ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Pakistan imported 137,000 barrels per day of crude in 2024, mostly light grades from the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates among its top suppliers, data from analytics firm Kpler showed. Oil imports amounted to $5.1 billion in 2024, data from Pakistan’s central bank showed.
In February, Saudi Arabia, through the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), extended a $1.2 billion financing facility to Pakistan for the import of oil products for a year. The SFD has provided approximately $6.7 billion to Islamabad for oil products since 2019.
Before Trump’s partial tariff pause last week, Pakistan said that it would send a delegation to the US in the coming weeks to negotiate new tariffs.
Several big energy importers are looking to buy more from the US to ease trade surpluses.
Last Friday, Indian state gas firm GAIL India Ltd. issued a tender to buy a 26 percent stake in a US liquefied natural gas (LNG) project and import LNG, while Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have discussed participating in an LNG project in the US state of Alaska.
Pakistan mulls US oil imports to ease trade imbalance
https://arab.news/9cuf8
Pakistan mulls US oil imports to ease trade imbalance
- Pakistan said that it would send a delegation to the US in the coming weeks to negotiate new tariffs
- Countries are scrambling to find ways to lower their US tariff burdens, including buying more US oil and gas
Pakistan weighs Trump Gaza board amid expert calls for Muslim allies’ consultations
- Former diplomats warn board could sideline UN, legitimize US unilateral plans
- Analysts say Pakistan should assert independent positions if it joins the body
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is weighing an invitation from US President Donald Trump to join a proposed international “Board of Peace” on Gaza, a move that has sparked debate among former diplomats and foreign policy experts who warned Tuesday it could sideline the United Nations and urge Islamabad to consult close Muslim allies.
The White House announced on Friday some members of the board, which is expected to supervise the temporary governance of Gaza under a fragile ceasefire in place since October and continue beyond that transitional phase.
These names included US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, former British prime minister Tony Blair and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Trump himself would chair the board, according to a plan unveiled by the White House in October.
Pakistan’s foreign office confirmed on Sunday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also received an invitation to join the proposed body, stressing that “the country will remain engaged with international efforts for peace and security in Gaza, leading to a lasting solution to the Palestine issue in accordance with United Nations resolutions.”
“Since the Trump ‘Board of Peace’ is more like an international NGO now, which would include [Indian Prime Minister Narendra] Modi and [Israel’s Benjamin] Netanyahu, Pakistan should carefully take a decision in consultation with its close Muslim allies like Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt and Indonesia, and it should be a joint decision of these countries together,” Former federal minister and analyst Mushahid Hussain told Arab News.
“Otherwise, there is no point in being in the queue just to please Trump,” he added.
Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas have agreed that a Palestinian technocratic administration would operate under the oversight of an international board during a transitional period.
Hussain said that if Pakistan did decide to join the board, it should use the platform to clearly articulate its long-held positions.
“Pakistan should play the role of boldly promoting the right of self-determination of the peoples of Palestine and Kashmir, both occupied territories, and oppose any aggression against Iran, as peace and occupation or aggression cannot coexist,” he said.
International affairs analyst and author Naseem Zehra said Pakistan’s participation could still be justified if it allowed Islamabad to assert independent positions on global conflicts.
“Donald Trump has invited 60 heads of states and prime ministers to become part of the peace board, which is more like an alternative to the United Nations,” she said, referring to media reports about the board’s mandate. “If Pakistan is invited among 60 countries, it is acceptable for Pakistan to participate, and with a seat at the table, Pakistan can share its own view of how global issues can be resolved.”
Zehra added that Pakistan’s past diplomatic conduct showed it could maintain principled positions while engaging internationally.
Former ambassador to the United States Maleeh Lodhi took a stronger view, warning that the initiative appeared designed to bypass established international mechanisms.
“Pakistan should not join the Board for many reasons,” she said. “Its aim is for President Trump to get international support and legitimacy for his unilateral plans not just in Gaza but beyond, without member states having any real power.”
“It is being set up to supplant the UN in its primary role of maintaining international peace and security, with Trump effectively calling all the shots,” she added.
When contacted, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif declined to comment and referred queries to the foreign office.
However, the foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi did not respond to Arab News requests for comment by the time of filing.
Pakistan has consistently supported Palestinian statehood under United Nations resolutions and has publicly criticized Israeli military operations in Gaza, while also opposing broader regional escalations, including attacks on Iran.
