Bangladesh has welcomed the outcome of trade negotiations with Washington, securing a 20 percent tariff rate on its exports to the US under a sweeping new executive order issued by President Donald Trump.
The order imposes import duties of up to 41 percent on 70 countries, part of a broader US strategy to tie trade access to commitments on economic reform, trade balances, and national security cooperation.
“Today, we successfully avoided a potential 35 percent reciprocal tariff. That’s good news for our apparel sector and the millions who depend on it,” said Khalilur Rahman, Bangladesh’s national security adviser, who was part of the negotiation team in Washington. “We’ve also preserved our global competitiveness and opened up new opportunities to access the world’s largest consumer market.”
The outcome ensures that Bangladesh remains on par with key rivals in the apparel export market — Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Indonesia, all of which received similar tariff levels of 19-20 percent. India, by contrast, was hit with a 25 percent tariff after failing to reach a comprehensive agreement.
“We negotiated carefully to ensure that our commitments aligned with our national interests and capacity,” Rahman said. “Protecting our apparel industry was a top priority, but we also focused our purchase commitments on US agricultural products. This supports our food security goals and fosters goodwill with US farming states.”
