Dhaka: Muhammad Yunus, Chief Advisor of the interim government in Bangladesh, has written a letter to US President Donald Trump Monday, requesting him to postpone the application of reciprocal tariff measures on the country’s exports to the United States for three months.
US President Donald Trump has slapped a 37 per cent tariff on Bangladeshi goods from the existing 15 per cent on average. A large portion of Bangladesh’s main export product, Ready-Made Garments (RMG), is exported to the US. Bangladesh’s annual exports to the United States are worth about $8.4 billion, mainly RMG.
The average tariff on American products is 74 per cent. The Trump administration applied a 50 per cent discount on this rate and imposed a tariff of 37 per cent for Bangladesh, local media reported.
As global stock markets plunged Monday, Trump defended his controversial tariff policies, dismissing concerns over the economic impact. He said that the world leaders are “dying to make a deal” to negotiate the reciprocal tariffs.
Meanwhile, the economy of Bangladesh is already on a declining trend since the interim government came to power in August 2024.
The business sector in the country has been facing a huge liquidity crunch, with numerous commercial and industrial establishments shutting down. The political turmoil in Bangladesh has also hugely impacted international trade and prompted global retailers to look for alternative partners. The entrepreneurs in Bangladesh are facing difficulties in importing raw materials to sustain their businesses.
Further, protests and strikes by workers of garment factories over non-payment of dues and deteriorating working conditions have gripped the entire country. Several reports have revealed that the continuous protests by the workers have led to the closure of many factories while many workers have also lost their lives or got seriously injured during protest marches.
A report in the country’s leading Bengali daily, Prothom Al, cited that most economic indicators, including revenue collection, inflation, unemployment, private investments, capital equipment import, capital market, and foreign investment, are not showing any good signs.
Dhaka-based Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has maintained that the country cannot attract domestic and foreign investments unless there is political and institutional stability.
IANS
