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The third and final day of the second round of negotiation meeting on the Tariff issue between Bangladesh and the US has been concluded, according to a press release issued by the Chief Adviser's office.
However, several issues remain unresolved. Both nations have decided to continue inter-ministerial discussions. Representatives of the two countries will sit in on the discussions again. The discussions can be held virtually or physically. It is expected that the meeting time and date will be decided as soon as possible, read the release.
Commerce adviser Sk Bashir Uddin and commerce secretary Mahbubur Rahman, including the additional secretary of the commerce ministry of Bangladesh, Nazneen Kawshar Chowdhury, were present at the meeting.
National Security Advisor Dr Khalilur Rahman and Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser Faiz Taiyeb Ahmad joined the meeting virtually from Dhaka. High-ranking government officials and experts were also present virtually.
The commerce advisor, commerce secretary and Additional Secretary will leave the USA for Dhaka on Saturday. They will go US again if necessary, according to the statement.
In the wake of the three-day talks, Trade Advisor Sheikh Bashir Uddin and National Security Advisor Dr Khalilur Rahman are optimistic that a positive position can be reached within the stipulated time, as mentioned in the press release.
The three-day discussion was coordinated by the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington, DC.
The third and final day meeting started on Friday at 11 AM US time (11 July). The negotiations meetings began on July 09.
On July 07 last, The US administration declared a plan to impose a 35 per cent tariff on products exported to the US market from Bangladesh, beginning on August 01, 2025.
To this end, the US President Donald J Trump has sent a letter to the Chief Adviser of the Bangladesh interim government, Muhammad Yunus.
The new tariff is 2.0 per cent lower than the initial declared rate, which was issued three months ago, dated April 02 last.
On April 02, The Trump administration announced an additional tariff of 37 per cent. It was supposed to take effect from April o9 last.
National Security Adviser and the Commerce Adviser of Bangladesh already sat in a meeting with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) representatives on July 3, 2025. The meeting ended without a decision.
Earlier commerce secretary said that the commerce Adviser confirmed to us that the US has given a time for Bangladesh on July 9 2025, to discuss the tariff issue.
Replying to a question, Mr Rahman said, “We received a new draft agreement which is different from the previously received draft sent by the US administration.
An official of IIT wing under the commerce ministry informed that the US wants to export aircraft, more cotton, food grains, LNG, military tools, etc., to Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh government has taken a move to purchase aircraft and wheat from the developed nations. Besides, it plans to request the local private traders to import more items, including cotton and wheat, from the USA.
The United States is Bangladesh's largest single-country export destination, accounting for 17.09 per cent of total exports in FY 2023-24, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
Bangladesh's top export item to the US is ready-made garments, which currently faces the most favoured-nation (MFN) tariff rate of 11.8 per cent on knitwear and 9.91 per cent on woven garments.
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