Bangladesh and the United States are set to hold final round of talks in Washington on July 3-4 to reach a mutual tariff agreement between the two countries.
Commerce ministry sources said a draft of the agreement is already in place, and if finalised, the deal is expected to reduce the ‘reciprocal tariff’ imposed on Bangladeshi products by the Trump administration.
The new US administration led by Donald Trump slapped additional 37 percent tariff on Bangladeshi products.
Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashiruddin will visit Washington to participate in the two-day talks with the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the sources said.
National Security Adviser Md. Khalilur Rahman, now on a visit to the U.S., held a meeting with USTR on June 26 on the agreement on tariff reduction.
Bangladesh export goods to the US with an average tariff of 15 percent. However, on April 3, Trump administration announced the imposition of extra 37 percent counter-tariff. This decision is also applicable to a total of 60 countries with varying tariff rates.
This development in US-Bangladesh trade relations comes after the US has recently finalised a trade agreement with its arch-rival China. Trump announced the deal on last Thursday.
US and China reached an agreement on certain issues related to rare minerals and technology, according to reports.
According to the US media outlet CNBC, China’s Ministry of Commerce issued a statement in this regard on last Friday. A ministry spokesperson said that China would review and approve export applications in accordance with its existing export control regulations. In return, the US would reduce existing restrictive measures it has imposed on Beijing. This statement came a day after President Trump had
See Page 2 Col 6
6. Final round
From Page 1 Col 3
announced that a deal with China had been signed, which was later confirmed by the White House which says this agreement was a part of the Geneva Agreement.
