No risk to US exports: Trade Adviser

The US has cut tariffs on Bangladeshi imports to 20 percent, a move that poses no threat to Bangladesh’s exports to the US, according to Trade Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin.

Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam shared the trade adviser’s remarks in a Facebook post on Friday morning.

He quoted Bashir Uddin as saying, “The 20 percent tariff keeps us in a competitive position. There is no risk of disruption to our exports to the US, although we had hoped for a rate lower than 20 percent.”

The tariff cut follows the third and final round of negotiations between Bangladesh and the United States on reciprocal trade measures.

After those talks concluded, the White House issued a statement confirming the new 20 percent tariff rate on Bangladeshi goods.

Previously, the tariff had been raised to 37 percent in April, then adjusted to 35 percent in early July, before being reduced to the current level.

According to the post, the US has imposed a 25 percent tariff on Indian products, 20 percent on Sri Lankan and Vietnamese goods and 19 percent on imports from Cambodia and Pakistan.