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Published : 23 Jul 2025, 06:47 PM
Despite the lack of any clear indication, Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed has expressed hope that the US will “slightly” reduce its proposed supplementary tariffs on Bangladeshi products at the last minute.
On Wednesday, after a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Government Purchase at the Secretariat, Salehuddin commented on the tariffs.
The Donald Trump administration has announced plans to impose an additional 35 percent tariff on goods from several countries, including Bangladesh.
The measures are scheduled to take effect at the beginning of August.
However, discussions are currently under way between Dhaka and Washington to cut the proposed duties.
When asked about the progress of negotiations, Salehuddin said: “We hope there will be some reduction. Our deficit is quite low, only $6.5 billion.”
With just eight days remaining until the new tariffs are enforced, he said: “The commerce advisor will visit the US before the 1st of August. Bangladesh has a positive image there. We have recently cleared outstanding payments to US companies like Chevron, Excelerate Energy, and MetLife. The US Chamber of Commerce has written to me, saying they have a positive feeling about us.”
He said there is no plan to hire lobbyists in this case, as lobbyists are typically engaged for long-term negotiations, whereas this requires “quick action”.
Regarding the weekly purchases, Salehuddin said the government has approved the import of 150,000 tonnes of fertiliser, including urea and TSP, as well as LNG imports.
It has also approved wheat imports from the US.
“The reason behind this is to diversify our sources. Supply from the Russian and Ukrainian blocs can sometimes be uncertain. We are currently negotiating increased imports from the US, they produce high-quality wheat,” he said.
When asked whether US wheat will be more expensive, the Salehuddin replied: “It is slightly costlier, but it also contains more protein.”
