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Bangladesh praised the result of its trade negotiations with the United States as a “decisive diplomatic victory,” after President Donald Trump announced a 20% tariff on its goods.
Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser to the Bangladeshi government, said in a Friday that the “landmark deal” reached preserves the country’s comparative advantage and its access to the world’s largest consumer market.
Exports from Bangladesh to the US were previously subject to Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs of 41% announced in April.
Yunus said that the 20% tariff rate is comparable to its key competitors in the apparel sectors such as Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Indonesia, which received rates between 19% and 20%.
“As a result, Bangladesh’s relative competitiveness in apparel exports remains unaffected,” he said.
Some context: The South Asian country’s garment industry contributed to about 85% of its export revenue, and more than 13% of its Gross Domestic Product, according to Bangladesh’s Foreign Investors’ Chamber Of Commerce & Industry. The industry employs 4.4 million people, of which most are women, in the country of 174 million.
Dr. Khalilur Rahman, Bangladesh’s National Security Advisor and lead negotiator, said in the same statement that the country’s representatives have negotiated carefully to ensure that the deal aligns with national interests.
“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,” he said.