Bangladesh plans to seek duty-free and preferential market access for its exports to the United States, especially readymade garments, during the World Bank-IMF spring meetings in Washington (April 21–25). Despite being an LDC, Bangladesh faces an average US tariff of 15.2% on its exports — one of the highest among US trading partners — while US exports to Bangladesh face only 1.62% in tariffs. Here are a few points to be highlighted,
· Bangladesh aims to urge the US to grant zero-tariff access, citing WTO agreements made in Hong Kong and Bali.
· RMG products made from US cotton will be highlighted, as Bangladesh imports large quantities of US cotton but imposes a 16% tariff on it, despite having duty-free import policy for cotton generally.
· Bangladesh has offered bonded warehouse facilities for US cotton and proposed removing trade barriers on US products.
· In FY2023-24, Bangladesh had a $5.1 billion trade surplus with the US, exporting $7.6B (87% from garments) and importing $2.5B.
· Bangladesh previously offered tariff reductions on 30 US products and key exports such as agricultural goods and scrap metals.
Talks will be led by Finance Adviser Mr. Salehuddin Ahmed, along with Bangladesh Bank Governor and senior trade officials. This initiative comes amid a temporary pause on US reciprocal tariffs, with Bangladesh seeking to secure better access to the US market and reduce existing trade imbalances.
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