Initial tariff talks with US ‘very comprehensive’: CA office

The first day of the second round of tariff talks between Bangladesh and the United States was "very comprehensive," the Chief Adviser's (CA) office said in a statement today.

The three-day negotiations began on July 9 in Washington DC, and the discussions on the opening day concluded a few hours ago, the office said.

"The talks were very comprehensive, touching upon almost all the key aspects of the trade relationship between the two nations," it said, without providing further details.

The second round of negotiations comes after the Trump administration announced a plan to impose a 35 percent tariff on Bangladeshi goods from August 1, a slight reduction from the initially proposed 37 percent. 

However, the new rate is significantly higher than the 20 percent duty that officials in Dhaka had anticipated, raising concerns among local exporters.

Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin is leading the Bangladesh delegation.

National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman, and the Chief Adviser's Special Assistant on ICT and Telecommunications, Faiz Ahmad Tayeb, joined the talks virtually from Dhaka.

Senior officials from the commerce ministry are also attending the meetings in the US capital.

On the US side, senior officials from agriculture, energy, commerce, and copyright agencies participated in the discussions, according to the statement.

The two sides will resume talks at 9 pm Bangladesh time on Thursday, with further discussions scheduled for Friday.