Yunus will talk to Trump administration about tariffs, says Commerce Advisor Bashir

‘We will import what is good for our economy,’ the advisor says

Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus will personally contact the US administration in an effort to relieve the pressure of high tariffs on Bangladesh economy, says Commerce Advisor Sheikh Bashir Uddin.

In response to a question about the decision taken by the chief advisor in an emergency meeting on US tariffs, he said the interim prime minister will present Bangladesh’s position to the US on this issue.

He also highlighted the importance of coordinating imports that benefit the Bangladesh economy.

After a meeting at 7pm on Saturday, the commerce advisor came to the briefing outside the State Guest House Jamuna.

He stressed there is also an analysis of whether there is any possibility for Bangladesh against the US President Donald Trump's decision apart from trying to understand the post-tariff measures.

He said, “Our chief advisor will directly contact the US administration. We will use his international acceptance and communicate with them.'”

The chief advisor sat for an emergency meeting amid the traders’ concerns following the United States’ announcement of increased tariffs on Bangladeshi exports.

Government advisors, officials, and economists took part in the meeting.

After the two-hour meeting, the commerce advisor shared details of the chief advisor’s High Representative Khalilur Rahman’s US visit in February, where discussions were held with US customs to boost trade.

“Our interest is to determine our work package for increasing trade.

“The United States has imposed a baseline global tariff of 10 percent, along with additional country-specific tariffs based on trade deficits.

“Based on the tariffs imposed and the type and structure of our trade, we will get in touch with the US administration to present our position on this issue under the guidance of the chief advisor.

“He will also engage with the US administration directly to convey our position on this issue.”

Highlighting Bangladesh’s potential, Bashir said: “We are trying to reduce the trade deficit by understanding the factors that are contrary to the potential and hope that we are in a better position than our competing countries in comparison.

“The trade deficit can be reduced by increasing imports. We import soybean oil, cotton for the garment industry, and metal scrap from the US.

“We also import industrial machinery and energy products from different countries of the world. We will coordinate and import what is good for our economy collectively.”

Also present at the meeting with the chief advisor, Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed, Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Advisor Fouzul Kabir Khan, Foreign Affairs Advisor Touhid Hossain, Khalilur, Chief Advisor’s Special Envoy Lutfey Siddiqi, Principal Secretary Siraj Uddin Mia, Principal Coordinator for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the CAO Lamia Morshed, Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur, NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan, BIDA Executive Chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, Finance Secretary Khairuzzaman Mozumder, and Policy Research Institute (PRI) Chairman Zaidi Sattar.

President Trump’s new tariffs on goods from over 100 countries will impose a 37 percent supplementary tariff on Bangladeshi exports, increasing the total tariff to 52 percent, up from the previous 15 percent.