The third round of Bangladesh-US tariff negotiations is underway in Washington, DC, with Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin leading the Bangladesh trade team.
On the first day of the third round of trade talks with the United States, Bangladesh received a green signal regarding reciprocal tariff reduction. Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman confirmed the development to reporters via WhatsApp from Washington, DC.

He said, “As per the agenda, we had fruitful discussions with the United States on July 29, and we have received indications from officials at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) that tariffs imposed on Bangladesh will be reduced.”

The Commerce Secretary further stated, “Our tariffs will be reduced significantly. However, it is not possible to confirm the exact figures at this moment. We have meetings scheduled for today and tomorrow. We are hopeful of a positive outcome for Bangladesh.”

The trade talks between the Bangladesh and US delegations began at 12:30 pm local time in Washington, DC, on Tuesday (July 29) and continued until 5:30 pm (3:30 am Wednesday Bangladesh time). The three-day discussions are scheduled to conclude on Thursday.

The Bangladesh delegation is led by Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin. Other members include National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman, Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman, and Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Nazneen Kawshar Chowdhury. Senior officials from the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington also attended, while representatives from various ministries and departments joined virtually.

The US delegation is headed by Assistant Trade Representative Brendan Lynch, accompanied by trade and tariff officials. The information was confirmed by sources from the Ministry of Commerce and the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington.

Earlier, the United States announced a 35 percent retaliatory tariff on Bangladeshi goods, set to take effect on August 1. In response, Bangladesh has pledged to increase imports from the US and lower tariffs on American products in an effort to prevent the retaliatory measures. Before the implementation of the new tariff policy introduced during Donald Trump’s administration, the average US tariff on Bangladeshi products stood at 15.5 percent. It has now increased to around 22–23 percent.

On April 2, President Donald Trump announced retaliatory tariffs on 60 countries, including Bangladesh. However, on April 9, the Trump administration postponed the implementation of the tariffs for three months, maintaining a uniform 10% additional duty for all countries.

Before the suspension period expired, Trump issued a new declaration on July 8, stating that the retaliatory tariff rate for Bangladesh would be 35%. Once country-specific tariffs are enforced, the general 10% additional duty will be adjusted accordingly.

Meanwhile, a responsible official of the Ministry of Commerce said there are indications that the United States may no longer be taking such a hardline stance. For Bangladesh, the effective tariff rate is likely to range between 15% and 20%.

Vietnam has reached a settlement at a 20% rate, while Indonesia and the Philippines agreed to 19%, Japan to 15%, the United Kingdom to 10%, and the European Union (EU) to 15%.