The United States and Pakistan hailed a trade deal on Thursday that Islamabad said would lead to lower tariffs and increased investment, but without specifying the level of tariff to be levied on Pakistani exports.

The United States and Pakistan say they have reached a trade agreement that is expected to allow Washington to help develop Pakistan’s largely untapped oil reserves and lower tariffs for the South Asi

However, diplomatic sources said the United States has agreed to charge a 15 to 20 per cent tariff on goods from Pakistan. The sources noted that the deal gives Islamabad an edge over India, which has been slapped with a 25pc tariff rate and penalised for buying weapons and oil from Russia and Iran.