Bangladesh resumed talks with the US Administration, especially the United States Trade Representative (USTR), to negotiate a reduction in the newly-imposed tariffs on Bangladeshi products at a favourable level.
The meeting began at 11:00 am local time in Washington D.C. with high-ranking officials from both nations.
The meeting was scheduled to end at 5:00 pm local time, said Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin on the WhatsApp messenger service. He, however, declined to disclose the agenda due to his busy schedule.
Besides the commerce adviser, Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman, and Additional Secretary Nazneen Kawshar Chowdhury were set to participate at the meeting in person.
The negotiation, prompted by the recent imposition of higher US tariff, will also be held on July 10-11, according to a source at the Ministry of Commerce. The official said Bangladesh may assure the USA of increasing imports of cotton, wheat, LNG, military equipment and possibly aircraft from the USA.
Bangladesh is expected to reaffirm that its exporters stick to US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards. Besides, necessary certification would be required to export pharmaceutical items, he added.
On July 07, the US administration announced their plan to impose 35 per cent tariff on Bangladeshi products exported to the US market, effective from August 01. In connection with the decision, US President Donald J. Trump sent a letter to Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus. The new tariff is 2.0 percentage points lower than the initially declared rate of 37 percent, which was announced three months ago on April 02.
The national security adviser and the commerce adviser of Bangladesh already held a meeting with the USTR representatives on July 3. The meeting, however, concluded without any decision.
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