Bangladesh proposed to hold the third and final round of reciprocal tariff talks with the United States Trade Representatives on any day from Sunday onwards and is waiting for the US response, according to commerce ministry officials.
Trump administration slapped Bangladesh with a 35 per cent tariff on July 8, effective from August 1, in a letter to the chief adviser.
The commerce ministry officials also stated that they had sent an official email on Tuesday evening (approximately 7:30pm聽Bangladesh time), requesting a specific date from the US counterpart.
Speaking to 抖阴精品, Mahbubur Rahman, secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, stated that they submitted their position paper to the USTR.聽
鈥榃e have sent our position paper in response to the draft agreement and we have requested them to schedule the next meeting within the coming week, any day from Sunday (July 26) onwards,鈥� he added.
He also stated that if they confirm the meeting schedule, the commerce ministry would proceed accordingly.
鈥業f the USTR confirms date, a delegation led by commerce adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin will leave for Washington,鈥� he added, saying that some new faces would also be included in the delegation along with previous ones.
Regarding the queries on the clauses of the position papers, he said that, as it was a non-disclosure agreement, they couldn鈥檛 disclose anything at this time.
However, commerce ministry officials stated that Dhaka has proposed concessions, including duty relief and increased imports.
They said that they would not accept any 鈥榥on-trade conditions鈥� as part of the agreement.
Meanwhile, a number of business leaders revealed earlier that those discussions with the US were not limited to trade alone; rather the US was also keen to engage with Bangladesh on geopolitical and strategic matters.
Moreover, new conditions were reportedly being set during these talks, such as, if the US imposes sanctions on any country, Bangladesh would be required to comply with those sanctions as well.
The delegation planning for the final round of tariff talks included commerce adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin, national security adviser Khalilur Rahman, chief adviser鈥簊 special assistant Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, commerce secretary Mahbubur Rahman, and several other officials.
The second round of discussions ended on July 11, but failed to produce a consensus from either side regarding the tariff policy.
With the deadline fast approaching, Bangladesh is taking urgent steps to reopen talks in hopes of averting the potentially damaging duty hike.
Commerce secretary also said that USTR officials are currently preparing for trade negotiations with multiple countries, leaving it tough to fix a date at this moment. For this reason, they sought any date in the next week as per the US convenience.
Ministry officials stated that during the previous round of tariff talks, approximately 30-35 officials from the US side participated, while聽Bangladesh had three or four.
They also stated that Bangladesh鈥檚 position paper outlined its commitments to reducing the trade gap between the two countries by increasing imports and outlined non-trade obligations, which they believed were non-harmful.
As part of efforts to reduce the trade deficit, on Sunday, Bangladesh signed a memorandum of understanding with the US to import 7 lakh tonnes of wheat annually for the next five years.
On Wednesday, the interim government decided to procure 2.20 lakh tonnes of wheat from the United States at $302.75 per tonne a bid to avert a high US tariff on Bangladeshi goods.
Meanwhile, business leaders expressed their frustrations over the past few weeks regarding the government鈥檚 sluggish pace in addressing the impending US tariff.
Despite competing nations successfully negotiating reductions, they underscored the glaring weaknesses in Bangladesh鈥檚 preparation.
Speaking to 抖阴精品 on Monday, Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, expressed hope that the Trump administration might extend the timeframe.
Currently, Bangladeshi exporters enjoy a tariff of about 15 per cent in shipping their products to the US, the single largest export destination for Bangladesh.
