Shafiqul Alam, the chief adviser's press secretary wrote expressed hope that ongoing bilateral discussions with the US administration would yield a positive outcome, writing in a post on his verified Facebook page on Tuesday, "Dhaka is looking forward to a tariff deal with Washington DC, which will be win-win for both countries."
The post comes after US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Monday, annonucing that Bangladesh's single-biggest export destination would impose a 35 percent tariff on goods exported from here, reports BSS.
In the letter, Trump stated that from August 1, Bangladeshi goods entering the United States would be subjected to a 35 percent tariff.
However, he also kept the door open for bilateral tariff negotiations, indicating that parts of the letter could be reconsidered.
Referring to President Trump's letter to the chief adviser, the press secretary said that a Bangladeshi trade delegation, led by Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin, is currently in the United States and had already held several rounds of meeting with the US trade and tariff officials.
Another scheduled round of talks is set to take place tomorrow.
Golam Mortoza, press minister at the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington, also shared an update on his verified Facebook page, stating that the tariff decision was 'not final'.
"The 35 percent... is not a final decision. Talks are ongoing. The next discussion is scheduled for July 9. Bangladesh is making its utmost efforts for a good outcome, and that possibility is not yet over."
In his letter to the chief adviser, the US president wrote, "The United States of America has agreed to continue working with Bangladesh, despite having a significant Trade Deficit with your great country."
He, however, added: "If you wish to open your heretofore closed Trading Markets to the United States, and eliminate your Tariff and Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers, we will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter."
Notably, alongside Bangladesh, the US announced revised tariffs on a total of 14 countries, including major US trading partners such as Japan and South Korea.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that similar tariff-related letters may be sent to more countries in the coming days.
In the letters sent to these countries, Trump said that the reciprocal tariffs suspended on last April would return within three weeks possibly at even higher rates.
Trump mentioned that a 25 percent tariff would be imposed on products from Tokyo and Seoul. In addition, tariffs ranging from 25 to 40 percent were mentioned for 14 countries, including Indonesia, Thailand, South Africa, and Malaysia.
He also noted that the August deadline for reaching agreements could be flexible.
Earlier, on April 3, US President Donald Trump had imposed reciprocal tariffs on several countries, setting a 37 percent tariff on Bangladeshi products at that time. Soon after, he annouced that the tariffs would be delayed by 90 days to allow countries room to negotiate.
Previously, Bangladeshi products faced an average tariff of 15 percent in the US.
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