Govt laid foundation for promising new chapter in Bangladesh-US relations: Shafiqul Alam

One of the major accomplishments of the interim government's foreign policy over the past 15 months has been establishing strong relations with the US agricultural economy and the farm lobby, Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said today (9 November). 

"The interim government has laid the foundation for this promising new chapter in Bangladesh-US relations," he said in a post shared from his verified Facebook account.

Looking ahead, Alam said, Bangladesh will be able successfully negotiate even greater tariff reductions from the US as the trade gap shrinks.

"Our garment exporters already have the capacity to purchase the entirety of US cotton exports. Once we establish ourselves as a key US trading partner, we will have no need to engage costly lobby groups in Washington — we will have the US farm lobby, which has considerable political strength, to advocate for us with US governmental entities," he said.

"Japan, China, Southeast Asian nations, and Western European countries have all prospered through robust trade with the United States. Now, we too can follow that path," Alam said.

Shafiqul mentioned that a few months after Khalilur Rahman was appointed as the High Representative on Rohingya Affairs (and later as National Security Adviser, Chief Adviser) Muhammad Yunus sent him to Washington DC in February to build ties with the new US administration.

Khalil, a veteran diplomat and an economist who spent decades at a senior level at a UN organisation specialising in global trade policy, quickly connected with key figures in the American agricultural sector, he noted.

"Bangladesh is a major importer of agricultural products, while the US is one of the world's largest exporters of soybeans, wheat, cotton, and corn.

"Access to the US agricultural market is potentially a crucial aspect of our food security, which is one of our key national security concerns," he said.

It also would allow us to diversify food import sources and thereby to avoid potential situations where certain sourcing countries might weaponise our food dependence on them.

"Khalil helped strengthen the bridge between Bangladeshi importers and the US farm lobby — a relationship that played a crucial role in our successful recent tariff negotiations with Washington."

"Besides, his successful efforts as our lead negotiator contributed to securing competitive tariff rates that have effectively safeguarded Bangladesh's garment industry," Shafiqul said.

Earlier this week, Bangladeshi importers pledged to purchase over one billion dollars' worth of US farm products – a "win-win outcome" for both countries and a milestone in Bangladesh-US relations, said the Press Secretary.

With China sourcing most of its soybeans from Brazil, Bangladesh can, in a meaningful way, help fill the gap left by Chinese importers, he said.

This growing agricultural trade partnership, Alam said, is now taking center stage in the two nations' diplomatic engagement, a vision championed by the interim government.