The announcement by the United States to slash Pakistan’s tariff rate from 29% to 19% was already being celebrated widely, with the country’s prime minister releasing a statement on X conveying his “profound thanks to President (Donald) Trump.”
Islamabad on Thursday rolled back a 5% tax on foreign digital services that had been introduced a month earlier, a decision seen locally as a goodwill gesture toward the US.
There is also satisfaction locally that Pakistan’s tariff rate is much lower than neighbor and archrival India’s. Fears in Islamabad that India was trying to isolate Pakistan financially have been somewhat tempered by the 25% tariff rate that the Trump administration hit New Delhi