Govt proposes completely withdrawing duties on 110 US imports 

With an eye on preparations for trade dialogue with the US on the heels of its reciprocal tariff policy, Bangladesh is mulling a change in tariffs and duties. 

According to the latest budget, a proposal has been made to reduce the tariff rates on a number of imported goods, with lower duties for 65 goods. 

The budget also called for withdrawal of import duties on 110 goods, full supplementary duty withdrawal on nine goods and reduction of supplementary duty on 442 goods. 

In his speech, Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed said, "The LDC graduation challenges along with the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war, instability in the Middle East, and, more recently, retaliatory tariffs on exports to the United States imposed by the Trump administration have created a context in which Bangladesh's position on the existing tariff structure on import-export trade needs to be reassessed."

To this end, the government has proposed reorganising the existing six-tier customs duty structure by introducing a new tier at the rate of 3%. 

"The proposal introduces a new 40% supplementary duty rate, alongside the existing twelve-tier structure. However, to benefit the citizens, it is proposed to keep the existing zero tariff rates unchanged 52 for essential goods, major food items, fertilizers, seeds, life-saving medicines, cotton, and raw materials for certain industries."