BD orders 25 Boeing airplanes as tradeoff

Bangladesh orders the purchase of 25 Boeing airplanes from the United States in a tradeoff package to secure a fairer tariff deal as the US administration imposed prohibitive duties on its exports.

Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman Monday apprised reporters at his secretariat office about the big-deal purchase order, and also about last-ditch negotiation mission to Washington.

He said a high-powered delegation is expected to leave Dhaka for the USA this (Monday) afternoon to resume the third round of negotiations with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to avert the jacked-up additional tariff slapped on products exported to the US market from Bangladesh.

The US has given time for a third-phase meeting on the tariff tussle. The meeting is scheduled for July 29-30 in Washington, DC. Besides, another meeting will be held on July 31-the deadline to seal the fate of Bangladesh's trade with the economic superpower.

The delegation members include Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin, National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman, commerce secretary Mahbubur Rahman and additional Secretary Nazneen Kawshar Chowdhury.

Earlier, Bangladesh inked a deal to import 0.7 million tonnes of wheat from the US over next five years. Of the volume, in the first year, it will import 0.220 million tonnes of the grain in a pivot from its traditional sources countries.

Replying to a question, commerce secretary Mahbubur Rahman said, "Boeing is not the business of the US government. It is done by a company named Boeing. Bangladesh has placed a total of 25 Boeing aircraft. Other countries have also placed similar orders. For example, India and Vietnam have placed 100 orders and Indonesia has placed 50 Boeing aircraft."

He says now the multinational Boeing would supply according to their capacity. It will take a long time to get the ordered Boeings. Those who placed orders earlier will be given first or the company will supply the aircraft according to their business type.

Bangladesh needs some Boeings very soon and may get a few in the next one year or two.

Mentioning that the country will have to increase its aircraft fleet, the Commerce Secretary further said this plan was taken earlier by the government. Earlier, Bangladesh had ordered 14 Boeings and the volume was increased to 25 due to the reciprocal-tariff issue.

Regarding US wheat import, Mahbubur Rahman exclaims that about 9.0 million tonnes of wheat is imported annually in state and private arrangements. An agreement has been signed on wheat import from the US. In addition, the government has made a move to import soybeans and cotton at the private level. Businessmen will hold discussions with US companies to import soybeans. Discussions on cotton import have already reached the final stage.

Mr Rahman said, "We worked in several rounds after receiving the draft of the tariff agreement. There were two rounds of direct and online discussions with Washington, DC. After meeting with the relevant ministries and stakeholders, we informed the US about Bangladesh's final position on July 23 last. Then we requested the US to give a new slot for holding meeting on tariff issue."

On the tariff issue, both nations have signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

Apart from the Boeing purchase and wheat import, Bangladesh is considering giving more duty exemptions or zero-rated duty facility on products imported from the US with a view to increasing bilateral trade between two nations.

The commerce ministry completed discussions with the Bangladeshi businesses, economists, and relevant ministries, for feedback ahead of the third round of negotiations with the United States Trade Representative regarding the trade agreement on the reciprocal tariff imposed by the US administration.

The ministry already sat with US Wheat Associates (USW), Chevron and Excelerate Energy. The ministry also had a meeting with the US Soybean Export Council (USSEC) and the US Cotton Association.

Besides, it sat with the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) on July 22.

More than 100 products have been added to this list in the 2025-26 fiscal budget that will facilitate not only the US but also other countries. Bangladesh has already kept tariffs on 190 products at zero to reduce its trade deficit with the United States.

Currently, Bangladesh imposes an average of 6.0 per cent duty on products imported from the United States.

On July 07, the Trump administration declared a plan to impose 35-percent tariff on products exported to the US market from Bangladesh, with a deferred effect from August 01.

To this end, US President Donald J Trump sent a letter to the Chief Adviser of the Bangladesh interim government, Muhammad Yunus. The new tariff is 2.0-percent lower than the initially declared rate of 37 per cent, issued three months ago, dated April 02 last. It was supposed to take effect from April 09.

The National Security Adviser and the Commerce Adviser of Bangladesh already sat with USTR representatives on July 03. The meeting ended sans decision.

In the meantime, various countries have completed necessary process signing bilateral agreements with the United States through negotiations. Bangladesh is also trying to strike a bilateral agreement. That is why a delegation led by the commerce adviser held several meetings with the USTR. However, Bangladesh and the US could not agree on all issues in the last talks.

The third and final day of the second round of negotiations on the tariff issue between Bangladesh and the US concluded on July 11.

However, several issues remain unresolved in the tariff talks, and both nations decided to continue inter-ministerial discussions.

According to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Bangladesh exported goods worth $8.76 billion to the United States in the fiscal year 2024-25.

A year ago, in the fiscal year 2023-24, Bangladesh's goods worth $7.68 billion were exported. In contrast, Bangladesh imported goods worth $2.5 billion from the country in the fiscal year 2024-25.

However, a year ago, in the fiscal year 2023-24, its imports cost $2.62 billion. The single-largest product imported from the United States is scrap iron or iron pieces. And the largest single product exported to the US is readymade garment.

rezamumu@gmail.com