B Mirror Report: Bangladesh’s National Security Adviser Dr Khalilur Rahman has proposed a 20 percent reduction in reciprocal tariffs to the United States during meetings in Washington, DC.

Dr Rahman met US Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Jamieson Greer and also held a separate meeting with Assistant USTR Brendan Lynch. During the discussions, he put forward the proposal to reduce the existing 20 percent reciprocal tariff rate.

In his meeting with Ambassador Greer on Thursday afternoon, Dr Rahman highlighted the progress made in narrowing the trade deficit between Bangladesh and the United States.

He said that even before the reciprocal trade agreement has been formally enforced, Bangladesh has made significant progress in reducing the trade gap by substantially increasing imports from the United States, and has already implemented several key aspects of the agreement.

Against this backdrop, Dr Rahman proposed lowering the current 20 percent reciprocal tariff. Ambassador Greer assured that the proposal would be considered positively. He also said that the proposal to reduce or completely withdraw reciprocal tariffs on ready-made garments produced using US-origin materials would be given serious consideration.

Both sides agreed to quickly resolve the remaining outstanding issues in order to finalise and implement the reciprocal tariff agreement.

Dr Rahman said that as bilateral trade continues to expand, business engagement between Bangladesh and the United States is expected to increase significantly in the coming days. Referring to Bangladesh’s recent inclusion in the US visa bond system, he sought Ambassador Greer’s support to ease travel for Bangladeshi businesspeople.

He also requested access for Bangladesh’s private sector to funding from the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

Ambassador Greer assured him of his efforts in this regard.

Bangladesh’s Ambassador to the United States, Tareq Md Ariful Islam, accompanied the National Security Adviser at the meeting. Assistant USTR Brendan Lynch and other USTR officials were also present. Dr Rahman is scheduled to meet senior officials of the US State Department tomorrow.