US ambassador meets Adviser Touhid, discusses bilateral relations
Dhaka eyes a reduction in reciprocal tariff.
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent T Christensen met Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain today (8 February) and discussed issues of bilateral relations.
Ambassador Christensen described the meeting with Adviser Hossain as 'excellent and productive'.
"Excellent meeting with the Adviser for Foreign Affairs Md. Touhid Hossain...we had a productive discussion on key elements of our bilateral relationship," said Ambassador Christensen after the meeting.
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Bangladesh and the United States are likely to sign a trade agreement tomorrow (9 February).
Dhaka eyes a reduction in reciprocal tariff.
Bangladesh has achieved an 'important step forward' towards strengthening its mutually beneficial trade relationship with the United States, opening the door to greater market access and new opportunities for its vital textile and apparel sector, said the Chief Adviser's press wing last month.
In response to a request from National Security Adviser Dr Khalilur Rahman who recently visited Washington DC, US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer has agreed to raise with US President Donald Trump the possibility of reducing Bangladesh's current 20% reciprocal tariff rate, bringing it more in line with regional competitors.
Even more significantly, he said, both sides have developed an innovative and forward-looking solution to support Bangladesh's export priorities.
Under a proposed preferential scheme discussed yesterday by Dr Rahman and Ambassador Greer, Bangladesh would receive tariff-free access to the US market for textile and apparel exports equivalent to its imports of US-produced cotton and man-made fiber textile inputs, measured on a square-meter basis.
This creative, win-win approach strengthens bilateral trade, supports Bangladeshi manufacturers and workers, and deepens supply-chain ties with US producers, said the interim government.
It reflects 'growing momentum and goodwill' in Bangladesh-US economic relations and marks a promising new chapter for Bangladesh's global trade prospects.
