Dhaka kicks off 2nd round of negotiations with USTR on tariff

Bangladesh has kicked off the second round of negotiations with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on the agreement on reciprocal tariffs from Wednesday to Friday, putting the utmost effort for a positive outcome.

Bangladesh is among the first countries to restart negotiations following the issuance of President Donald Trump's letter to the leaders of 14 countries on Monday.

Meanwhile, Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin, Commerce Secretary and an Additional Commerce Secretary has joined the discussions held in Washington, while National Security Adviser Dr Khalilur Rahman to join them virtually from Dhaka, according to the foreign Ministry sources.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh termed the imposition of a 35 per cent supplementary tariff on Bangladeshi products by the US is not justified, especially when the trade deficit between the countries is comparatively low.

 "It is true that our trade deficit with the US is only about $5 billion, while Vietnam's is $125 billion. Even so, the US has agreed to offer Vietnam some concessions. In that case, given our much smaller deficit, there is no justification for imposing such a high tariff on us. We will continue to negotiate," Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed told media.

"The meeting looks likely to be somewhat positive. US president has already sent a letter. Now one-to-one negotiations will follow." He remarked.

"The 35 per cent tariff imposed on Bangladesh by the US is not a final decision, as the discussions are still ongoing," Golam Mortoza, press minister at the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington, DC, said. He wrote in a post on Facebook "Bangladesh is putting the utmost effort for a positive outcome, and that possibility is not over yet."