US Tariff on India: Did Donald Trump tilt to Pakistan for personal reasons, financial benefits for family?

What happened was that President Donald Trump reduced the US tariff on Pakistan from 29% to 19%, while imposing a 25% tariff on India. Worse, he announced an oil deal with Islamabad and declared that a US firm will develop a massive oil reserve for the Islamic nation, even though there is no proven crude reserve in the country. Pakistan has no refining capacity, no technical know-how or capital to develop such an oil reserve. What happened that Donald Trump not only punished India but also tilted towards its arch-rival? Why a sudden change in the approach towards a country, with which Washington hopes to increase the bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030?

Trump family's cryptocurrency deal with Pakistan

Analysts believe that personal reasons like the possibility of getting financial and business benefits for the family may be a good, big reason. Pakistan signed a deal with World Liberty Financial on April 26 in Islamabad to legalise cryptocurrency in the country. The signing ceremony was attended by Pakistan's Minister for Information Ataullah Tarar, PCC CEO Bilal Bin Saeed, WLF Co-Chairman Zachary Witkoff, and others. If reports are to be believed, Trump's family members, including his sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, hold a 60% stake in the WLF. The importance of the project can be gauged by the fact that the WLF delegation met Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Army Chief General Asim Munir, the Deputy Prime Minister, and the Information and Defence Ministers to formalise cooperation.

Abu Dhabi's MGX in Binance Holdings invested $2 billion in March in the WLF, which has a stablecoin product called USD1. The MGX used it for investment. The Trump family and its affiliates received $22.5 billion units of World Liberty's coins, $WLFI. 

Donald Trump's penchant for Nobel Prize

Another personal reason for tilting towards Pakistan might be Islamabad's endorsement of Donald Trump's nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. Pakistan formally recommended the US President for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing his “decisive diplomatic intervention” in the four-day India-Pakistan military clash. 

Hours after the US president announced tariff rates for India, Pakistan, and many other countries, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed that Donald Trump has brought war to an end in many conflict zones, and his attempts make a strong case for the Nobel Peace Prize 2026. She said, "The President has now ended conflicts between Thailand and Cambodia, Israel and Iran, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India and Pakistan, Serbia and Kosovo, and Egypt and Ethiopia. This means President Trump has brokered, on average, about one peace deal or ceasefire per month during his six months in office. It is well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize."