Shafiqul Alam, the Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser, has stated that in response to the United States' new tariff policy, the Government of Bangladesh has decided to send two letters to the US within the next 48 hours. One of the letters will be sent by Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus.
Following a high-level special meeting chaired by the Finance Ministry's Economic Adviser on Sunday (April 6), Shafiqul Alam provided this information.
He stated that the second letter would be sent by Trade Adviser Bashir Uddin to the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR). According to the meeting's decision, the letter will request that Bangladesh be allowed to continue exporting products with the existing 15% tariff rate for at least another three months.
The letters will outline the steps Bangladesh has taken—and plans to take—to ease exports to the US, as well as strategies to make doing business and investing in Bangladesh easier.
Shafiqul Alam added, "Whatever is in the letter, it will be business-friendly. It will protect Bangladesh’s business interests. The letter will show that we are more business-friendly than our competitor countries. The goal is to create a win-win situation for both the US and Bangladesh, and to further increase our market access."
The high-level meeting was attended by Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud, Energy Adviser Fauzul Kabir Khan, Chief Adviser's High Representative Dr Khalilur Rahman, Special Envoy Lutfor Siddique, Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Ashiq Chowdhury, former BGMEA Presidents Rubana Huq and Faruque Hassan, prominent businessman Tapan Chowdhury, Managing Director of Apex Footwear Syed Nasim Manzur, BKMEA Executive President Md Hatem, and senior officials from various ministries.
Meanwhile, business leaders told reporters that they are satisfied with the government's initiative. They believe the government's strategic response to the new US tariff policy will help create a level playing field. Today's meeting gave them clear guidance, which they described as good news for the business community.
