As Pakistan has hired lobbyists with close ties to President Trump, it has also received favorable tariff treatment and unique access in Washington.
Pakistan signed a series of high-priced contracts with prominent Washington lobbying firms this spring, just weeks before the White House announced favorable new policies that gave the country one of the world’s more enviable tariff rates and an edge over its archrival, India.
The policy changes heralded a turnabout in Pakistan’s previously rocky relationship with the Trump administration and have largely been attributed to shrewd diplomacy by Islamabad, which has lavished President Trump with the kind of public accolades and big-ticket business deals he relishes.
But the lobbying contracts, which totaled millions of dollars and held out the promises of lower tariffs and access to Mr. Trump, suggest an additional reason for Pakistan’s improved standing: a campaign to influence the president, which included employing some of his closest confidants.
In April and May, as Pakistan ramped up its charm offensive, it spent at least three times as much as India on lobbying in Washington, according to contracts filed with the Department of Justice. As Islamabad rapidly hired lobbyists, including Mr. Trump’s former business partners and bodyguard, its relationship with the United States blossomed and India’s deteriorated.
Many factors may help explain India and Pakistan’s recent divergent trajectories. One is that Pakistan agreed to credit Mr. Trump with ending its military dispute with India in May and to nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize. Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India refused to do either, arguing that U.S. involvement had nothing to do with the cease-fire. Islamabad also eagerly pitched what became a $500 million mineral extraction agreement and opened its markets to American farm goods.
But the timeline of events and the speedy U.S. warming toward Pakistan also coincides with the lobbying effort.
“You can sort of look at the dots connecting themselves,” said Michael Kugelman, formerly the director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center, who added that Pakistan’s lobbying effort was one of several key factors in its turnaround.
“There were lobbyists charged with dealing with the tariff issue, then Pakistan’s tariffs come down,” he added. “There are lobbyists contracted to promote economic cooperation, then you have all this interest from the U.S. in critical minerals and energy.”
Over the course of a turbulent few weeks this spring, as the Trump administration raised tariffs on countries around the world and Pakistan found itself on the brink of war with India, Islamabad entered contracts with six Washington firms for nearly $5 million in eventual retainer fees.
