US, Bangladesh to discuss 35% tariff on Bangladeshi products today: Commerce secretary
A meeting has been scheduled this afternoon (8 July) between Bangladesh and the United States (US) regarding the newly imposed 35% tariff on the import of Bangladeshi products, according to Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman.
He said Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin will join the meeting physically in the US, while the trade secretary will join virtually.
Talking to The Business Standard this morning, the commerce secretary said that along with the letter imposing the 35% tariff, the United States has sent a new set of documents for an agreement.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
When asked what those documents contain, he said, "It's quite a large document, and I haven't had the chance to read it fully yet. We'll have to see later what they are asking for and how much they are willing to review if an agreement is made."
US President Donald Trump sent letters to the heads of 14 countries imposing tariffs ranging from 25% to 40%.
Bangladesh will be subjected to a 35% tariff effective from 1 August, reads the letter to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.
This rate is 2% lower than his initial rate announced three months ago, but significantly higher than close rival Vietnam (in the field of RMG), which recently secured a trade deal with the US under which its goods will be charged a tariff of 20%.
In each of his 14 letters, Trump warned against any retaliatory tariffs, threatening reciprocation from the US.
"If for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by will be added onto the tariffs that we charge," Trump wrote.
