The first day of the third round of talks between the Bangladesh delegation and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) concluded, with discussions centred on reducing the recently imposed reciprocal tariff on Bangladeshi products.
Speaking to Prothom Alo at 7:00 am Bangladesh time today, Wednesday, Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashiruddin said, “The first day’s discussion has ended. Results don’t come instantly in matters like this. But I can say that we are making progress on resolving the issues and conditions that were on the table.”
Sources present at the meeting said that both countries reached an understanding on issues that remained unresolved in the previous two rounds of discussions.
Bangladesh also raised the issue of trade privileges extended by the US to other countries. Final decisions are expected on the concluding day of the talks.
The first day of this third round of discussion began at 12:30 am on Wednesday Bangladesh time at the USTR headquarters in Washington, D.C. Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashiruddin has been leading the Bangladeshi delegation there.
According to sources at the Ministry of Commerce, the three-day negotiations are scheduled to conclude on 31 July.
A press release issued by the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing on Tuesday night stated that, based on the progress made in previous rounds of talks, Bangladesh is expecting a positive outcome from this phase of discussions.
The US has announced a 35 per cent reciprocal tariff on Bangladeshi products, due to take effect on 1 August.
Currently, Bangladeshi exporters pay a 15 per cent duty on goods to export products to the US. If the new rate is enforced, the total tariff would rise to 50 per cent.