In partnership with
PAKISTAN FACES 29% TARIFF ON US GOODS UNDER TRUMP’S NEW RECIPROCAL TARIFFS PLAN
Profit
Friday, 4 April, 2025 I 5 Shawwal, 1446
P g
RECIPROCAL TARIFFS TARGETING OVER 60 COUNTRIES, INCLUDING CHINA AND EU, TO BEGIN IN APRIL
g
PROFIT
Rs 20.00 | Vol XV No 267 I 8 Pages I Islamabad Edition
SEVERITY OF TRUMP’S TARIFFS HAS TAKEN MANY ECONOMIC ANALYSTS BY SURPRISE
STAFF REPORT
RESIDENT Donald Trump announced a significant new trade plan on Wednesday, imposing sweeping reciprocal tariffs on goods from countries around the world, including Pakistan. According to media reports, under the new plan, Pakistan will face a 29% tariff, as the U.S. president emphasized that the South Asian country imposes a 58% tariff on U.S. goods. The US is set to implement a baseline 10% tariff on all countries starting April 5, 2025. However, countries with higher tariffs on US goods or other trade barriers are subject to additional tariffs. Pakistan’s 29% tariff is one of the higher rates, reflecting its trade
practices and policies that the Trump administration claims disadvantage US businesses.
Other countries affected by the new tariffs include China, which faces a rate of 34%,
and Vietnam, which will face a 46% tariff. The European Union will see a 20% tariff on its goods, and countries such as Japan, South Korea, and India will also face significant increases in tariff rates. The list also includes countries like Thailand (36%), South Africa (30%), and Malaysia (24%), among others. While the new tariffs are set to affect a wide range of countries, some nations, including Canada and Mexico, are exempt from the new reciprocal tariff scheme, as they will continue to be managed under previously established trade frameworks. Furthermore, the U.S. will impose a 25% tariff on all foreign-made automobiles, a move that is expected to have significant implications for the global automotive industry. The new tariff plan is part of a broader US strategy to correct perceived trade imbalances and reduce barriers to American
goods. The administration’s goal is to address “unfair” tariffs and non-tariff barriers that restrict U.S. exports, aiming to create a more level playing field in global trade. As part of the new trade measures, Trump’s administration has also set out specific tariff rates for approximately 60 countries that have been identified as “worst offenders” in terms of trade practices. These countries, which include China, Vietnam, and the European Union, will see tariffs of up to 90% based on the level of trade barriers they impose on U.S. goods. The severity of Trump’s tariffs has taken many economic analysts by surprise. Oxford Economics said in an initial assessment that tariff rates were set to rise to levels not seen since the 1930s, “exceeding what we laid out in our full-blown Trump scenario.”
Pakistan stock market hits record high US stocks rout deepens on tariffs as investors brush off Trump’s tariffs as Nasdaq, S&P tumble PROFIT
NEWS DESK
Pakistan’s stock market surged to an all-time high on Thursday, with the KSE-100 index closing at 118,938.11 points, up 1,131.37 points or 0.96%, as investors brushed off concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs. The rally came after an initial dip when trading resumed post-Eid, with the index falling to an intraday low of 117,508.07 as investors assessed the impact of Trump’s 10% blanket tariffs on global imports, including a 29% levy on Pakistani goods. However, sentiment shifted sharply after the government announced a significant reduction in
Barrister Saif rebuts reports on Imran seeking ‘re-engagement with establishment’ PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government spokesperson Barrister Saif on Thursday rubbished reports claiming Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan assigned him and KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur to negotiations with the establishment. “Nobody was assigned to hold negations with the establishment by the PTI founder,” Barrister Saif stated while reacting to the speculations. The statement comes as reports have been making rounds on the media that the jailed PTI founder tasked KP CM and Barrister Saif to “re-engage” with the establishment during a recent meeting between the former prime minister and the duo in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail. Following the April 2 meeting, reports emerged that the KP CM and his aide convinced the PTI founder to engage in talks, after which Khan granted them the task. KP CM Gandapur met Khan at Adiala Jail on Wednesday after nearly one and a half months. The two spoke for two and a half hours, discussing “institutional confrontations and criticism of party leadership on social media”. Barrister Saif informed that during their meeting with Khan, discussions were held on the government’s affairs, terrorism, and Afghanistan. The PTI leader stated that the former prime minister gave instructions to the KP CM regarding governance. Quoting Khan, Saif said that he would not talk to anyone for personal gains including securing release from jail. PTI rejects reports of negotiations Meanwhile, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram dismissed reports about the meeting, saying that false claims were being circulated. “No one went to convince the PTI founder to negotiate,” he told a private TV channel, refuting that Khan had tasked anyone with talks.
electricity tariffs, driving the index to an intraday high of 119,179.45 before settling near record levels. Trump’s tariffs, branded as “Liberation Day” trade measures, have sparked global backlash, with Australia calling them “unwarranted” and Italy labelling them “wrong.” The move triggered steep declines in global markets, with the Nasdaq plunging 3.2%, the Nikkei sliding 3%, and European indices following suit. Tech giants bore the brunt of the selloff, with Apple shedding $240 billion in market capitalisation and Nvidia losing $153 billion. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury yields fell to a five-month low as investors priced in the likelihood of rate cuts despite inflationary risks from the tariffs.
PROFIT AFP
The sell-off in Wall Street stocks deepened in midmorning trading Thursday, with the S&P 500 losing more than four percent following US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement. Trump’s broadly crafted new levies battered leading names in banking, technology, apparel and most other areas. Among the S&P 500’s 11 sectors, only consumer staples was solidly in positive territory, with the other 10 in the red or nearly flat. Near 1510 GMT, the S&P 500 stood at 5,420.15, down 4.4 percent.
Mengal makes ‘three demands’ as party’s sit-in enters 7th day CONTINUED ON PAGE 03
MASTUNG/QUETTA STAFF REPORT
Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal on Thursday announced three demands as the party’s sit-in being staged in Mastung entered its seventh day. Deadlock persists between the provincial government and the BNP-M leadership as the second round of talks between the government’s negotiation team and the party ended without producing any results. While addressing the sit-in, Mengal said the government can continue to use force as per its wishes, but it will be held “responsible for the consequences.” The BNP-M chief said the party has three demands – “Either release all prisoners of the BYC, including women, or then let us march on to Quetta, where we can hold a peaceful sit-in there. Or then arrest us.” He informed that the demands were put forwards to the provincial government delegation comprising Zahoor Ahmed Buledi, Bakht Muhammad Kakar, Ubaidullah Gorgage, as well as Additional Home Chief Secretary Zahid Saleem, and the Kalat Commissioner. “There are no demands other than this, nor is there any other option,” Mengal said. “We have presented our clear demands to the government from day one.” Mengal said the government’s delegation had asked for more time for consultation after the second round of talks. “The deadlock persists
CONTINUED ON PAGE 03
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 3.7 percent to 40,644.74, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index plunged 5.7 percent to 16,591.55. The rout follows Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement in which he unveiled a broad swath of new levies affecting all US trading partners. “Clearly what was announced was close to the worst-case scenario and markets were not prepared for that and are reacting accordingly,” said Angelo Kourkafas, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones. Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments said the tariffs will reduce corporate earnings and could reignite inflation and prompt counter tariffs from US trade partners.
Crackdown likely on ACCs, illegal foreigners as deadline for voluntary return expires CONTINUED ON PAGE 03
ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR STAFF REPORT
despite two more days being sought for consultation, which ends tonight.” He added: “If all prisoners, including women, are not released, we will march towards Quetta.” “The Balochistan government is the only government in the world that shuts its roads and causes inconvenience to its people,” he said. He noted that after the government halted the long march, the number of participants at the sit-in increased instead of decreasing because people wanted the recovery of their loved ones, which is why they were joining the sit-in in droves. The BNP has held its sit-in on one side of the Mastung National Highway, while the government has closed all major and minor highways leading to Quetta, including the Lakpass Tunnel, Mastung, and Kolpur. On the other hand, mobile networks and internet in different areas of Quetta remained shut-
down, which not only causing difficulties for the public, but also worsening the situation. Quetta’s land connection with 12 other districts in Balochistan has been cut off for the past seven days due to the closure of highways, including the Quetta-Karachi National Highway, as the administration has dug ditches on Lakpass and surrounding highways. The BNP-M had announced a “long march” from Wadh to Quetta last Friday to protest against the arrests of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leaders and activists, including Dr Mahrang Baloch and Sammi Deen Baloch, as well as the police crackdown on their sit-in in Quetta. Sammi was released on Tuesday. A day earlier, Mengal announced that he would announce new demonstrations on Thursday (today) as talks with a government delegation bore no fruit.
The process to repatriate all illegal foreigners and Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders set to gain momentum as the deadline for voluntary departure has officially expired. Pakistan had set a March 31 deadline for all illegal residents, including Afghan Citizen Card holders, to voluntarily return to their home countries. The deadline for voluntarily return ended on March 31, but the repatriation process could not formally begin due to the Eid holidays. A day earlier, Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and briefed him about the progress with regard to the repatriation process of the Afghan nationals. According to official data, a total of 886,242 undocumented Afghan nationals have left Pakistan as of April 1, with repatriations continuing. Authorities have warned of strict legal action against those who failed to leave by the deadline, reinforcing the government’s commitment to enforcing immigration laws. There are 43 camps for Afghan refugees in KhyberPakhtunkhwa. The number of Afghan nationals in Pakistan holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards is 1,344,584. In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the total number of registered Afghan refugees is 709,278, out of which 344,908 are residing in camps. The number of Afghan refugees holding Afghan Citizen Cards is 307,647. Since 2013, a total of 465,000 Afghan refugees have returned through the Torkham border. In Balochistan, 317,000 Afghan refugees are registered, while Punjab has 196,000, Sindh has 74,117, Islamabad has 42,718, and Azad Kashmir has 4,448 Afghan refugees residing.
PM unveils ‘massive relief’ of upto Rs7.69 per unit for power consumers ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday announced a significant reduction in the electricity prices of up to Rs7.69 per unit for the consumers, pledging to provide further relief in near future through structural reforms in the power sector. The prime minister, addressing a ceremony to unveil the package, said that the average per unit price for the domestic consumers had been brought down by Rs7.41 and Rs7.69 for industrial sector. “In June 2024, the per unit price for industrial sector was Rs58.5 which was first reduced by Rs10.3 and further by Rs7.69,” he added. The prime minister pointed out that the government was taking structural reforms especially in power sector to ensure further relief for the consumers and overall devel-
opment of the country. “This reduction will help industrialists to produce cheaper and more competitive products,” he added. He noted that the common people had to suffer a lot in the past due to high inflation rate and electricity bills. However, he assured that the government was taking further steps to provide maximum relief to them. Highlighting the structural reforms to be taken in power sector, the prime minister said the government will ensure halting power theft which was around Rs600 billion per year. Similarly, he said by establishing open market, the electricity tariffs will be further decreased. He said there was no option but to privatize or commercialize Power Distribution Companies (DISCOs) to reduce the burden of line losses and power theft on the national exchequer. “I have directed the team concerned to work diligently to implement reforms in the
sector as soon as possible,” he added. Appreciating the task force formed to finalize power reforms, the prime minister said the force worked really hard and through their innovative thoughts, they brought different options and managed to convince the IMF to reduce the power tariffs. “We did not pass on the low international petroleum prices and retained the prices to ensure that the government will reduce the power tariffs to which IMF agreed in principle,” he added. He said the trust with the IMF that was breached in 2020, was now being restored. Similarly, he said the government successfully negotiated with the Independent Power Producers (IPPs), and praised the government team, led by Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, for their commendable efforts. “After negotiation with the IPPs, our team managed to save Rs3,696 billion that
were to be paid to the IPPs,” he added. Likewise, he added that the government was also facing an immense challenge of circular debts of Rs2,393 billion.
However, he informed that the government had also made arrangements to gradually but permanently solve this problem within five years.