Pak Spends $5mn to Hire Lobbyist
to Arrange Trump Munir Lunch Meet, India Competes with $75K per Month Lobbyist
As Pakistan has hired lobbyists with
close ties to President Trump, it has also received favorable
tariff treatment and unique access in Washington.
Key Developments
·
Pakistan’s
Lobbying Blitz: In
spring 2025, Pakistan signed contracts worth nearly $5 million with six
prominent Washington lobbying firms. Many of these lobbyists had strong
personal and business ties to President Trump, including former Trump
Organization executives and his former bodyguard.
·
Direct
Advocacy: The
lobbying contracts included explicit promises of meetings with Trump
administration officials and direct advocacy to secure lower tariffs and
improved diplomatic ties.
·
Strategic
Diplomacy: Pakistan
offered public support for Trump’s international peace initiatives, credited
him with ending its military conflict with India, and agreed to nominate Trump
for a Nobel Peace Prize—moves that helped ingratiate the country with the White
House.
Impact on U.S. Policy
·
Tariff
Reductions: Shortly
after the lobbying contracts and diplomatic gestures, Trump cut tariffs on
Pakistani goods from 29% to 19%—one of the lowest among major Asian economies.
At the same time, India’s tariff rate was raised to 50%, partly due to its
unwillingness to align with Trump’s requests and its continued purchase of
Russian oil.
·
Improved
Access: Pakistan
gained unique access in Washington, including high-profile meetings such as a
private White House lunch between Trump and Pakistan’s top military leader—a
rare honor not previously granted to Pakistani
officials.
Contrast with India
·
India’s
Efforts: India
also increased its lobbying spending and hired firms with Trump connections,
but spent less than Pakistan and did not offer significant public accolades or
concessions, such as nominating Trump for the Nobel Prize.
·
Divergent
Outcomes: While
Pakistan reaped favorable tariff terms and improved
relations, India’s lobbying efforts resulted in less tangible benefits and
higher tariffs.
Shifting U.S. Policy and Legal Context
·
Looser
Rules on Foreign Lobbying: The
Trump administration relaxed enforcement on foreign influence, disbanding the
Justice Department’s Foreign Influence Task Force and narrowing the application
of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. This made lobbying by countries like
Pakistan less legally risky and potentially more effective.
·
Longstanding
Practice, New Results: Foreign
governments have long paid U.S. lobbyists—by law, these relationships must be
publicly disclosed. What changed was the Trump administration’s receptiveness
to these efforts, especially when accompanied by personal gestures or support
for the president’s own political agenda.
Summary
·
Pakistan’s
aggressive lobbying—combined with diplomatic gestures and business
deals—achieved uniquely favorable tariff treatment
and improved U.S. relations. These outcomes stood in sharp contrast to India,
which spent less and did not match Pakistan’s strategic overtures.
·
The story
highlights the growing influence of foreign lobbyists in Washington,
particularly when they’re closely tied to U.S. leaders, and reveals how
transactional diplomacy and personal politics can shape major international
trade policies.
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.
Among
the firms Pakistan hired was Seiden Law LLP, which subcontracted Javelin Advisors,
a government relations venture. Javelin’s founders include George Sorial, a longtime
Trump Organization executive, and Keith Schiller, Mr. Trump’s former bodyguard,
who served as director of Oval Office operations during the first Trump administration.
A
million-dollar contract signed between Pakistan and Seiden Law on April 8 promised
“a mutually agreed upon number of meetings to enhance Pakistani-U.S. leadership
level engagements at the White House.”
Another
agreement with Javelin was inked on April 24, just two days after militants killed
26 people in a terrorist attack in India-controlled Kashmir, and Pakistan and India
found themselves on a path to war.
Just
weeks after the contracts were finalized, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, the senior-most
leader in Pakistan’s powerful military, arrived in Washington, where he met the
Javelin principals.
The
following afternoon, June 18, Field Marshal Munir had a private lunch with Mr. Trump
at the White House. It was a remarkable meeting: Pakistani Army chiefs had accompanied
civilian leaders to presidential meetings, but there is no record of one meeting
on his own with a president at the White House.
“We realized we needed to establish a channel at
the most senior level,” Mr. Seiden said. Citing attorney-client privilege, he declined
to discuss the details of the sit-down with the field marshal, but in a statement
his firm said the Pakistanis credited it with its improved fortunes in Washington.
“Many
people were instrumental in this that didn’t involve us,” Javelin Advisors said
in a statement to The New York Times. “The Pakistani personnel told us we were instrumental
in the progress made with the U.S. government.”
An
official familiar with the discussions said Javelin approached one of the president’s
aides to facilitate a meeting, but the lunch was ultimately organized by the National
Security Council.
Pakistani
Embassy officials did not respond to requests for comment about efforts to improve
their relationship with the White House.
Anna
Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement that Pakistan has been a “vital
partner” in countering “radical Islamic terrorism” since the start of the administration.
Mr. Trump’s use of tariffs to “end the conflict between India and Pakistan,” she
added, “enhanced the president’s positive relationship with Pakistani leaders.”
By
the fall, Mr. Trump had called Pakistan’s army chief his “favorite
field marshal” and the nation’s support for his Gaza peace plan “incredible.” It
was a sharp turn for a country that Mr. Trump had said in his first term offered
“nothing but lies and deceit.”
On
April 2, President Trump announced a 29 percent tariff on Pakistani goods. Six days
later — the same day it hired Seiden Law — Islamabad signed a deal with Orchid
Advisors, a lobbying firm, which then subcontracted with the firm Squire Patton
Boggs.
The
contract with Orchid promised “direct advocacy efforts with the Trump administration
regarding tariffs and trade” and to “reset the diplomatic, military and commercial
relationship” between the countries.
Squire
has employed the president’s former economic adviser Everett Eissenstat, and his
former defense secretary, Mark Esper.
Four
months after the contract was signed, Mr. Trump cut tariffs on Pakistan to 19 percent
— one of the lower rates among major Asia economies — and increased India’s rate
to 50 percent, in large part over President Trump’s frustration that it was still
buying Russian oil.
In
a statement, Squire said it “cannot comment on client engagements without their
permission.”
Foreign
governments paying American lobbyists to influence public officials is nothing new.
Since 1938, the Foreign Agents Registration Act has compelled Americans working
on behalf of foreign governments to register with the Department of Justice and
publicly disclose contracts signed with them.
But
at the same time that Pakistan was ramping up its campaign, the Trump administration
was moving to loosen limits on foreign lobbying.Recently,
Attorney General Pam Bondi, herself a former lobbyist, disbanded the Justice Department’s
Foreign Influence Task Force, which prosecuted cases of influence peddling, and
narrowed the enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
India
also hired new lobbyists in the spring, and ramped up its efforts in the summer
as it was being outspent in Washington by Pakistan.
In
April, India inked a deal with SHW Partners LLC, run by the longtime Trump adviser
Jason Miller, who worked on all three of the president’s campaigns. That contract
promised India “strategic counsel” and help building “government relations,” but
does not specify particular areas.
And
in August, India hired Mercury Public Affairs, whose partners include Danielle Alvarez,
a former senior adviser to Mr. Trump’s 2024 campaign, and Bryan Lanza, the former
communications director for Mr. Trump’s transition team. Susie Wiles, the White
House chief of staff, was also formerly employed by the firm as a lobbyist.
The
Indian Embassy did not respond to a request to comment.