The government will take appropriate measures to address the US tariff issue through bilateral discussions, said Khalilur Rahman, high representative of the chief adviser (CA), following an emergency meeting on the matter on Saturday.
“It’s not a sudden development for us, but we are prepared for it,” Rahman told reporters after emerging from a meeting with Chief Adviser Prof Mohammad Yunus, held at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka this evening.
He said that at the beginning of February, the chief adviser had instructed him to hold a meeting with the US government.
Following that directive, Rahman held discussions with several officials at the US State Department in Washington during the second week of February. Since then, ongoing discussions on the issue have been taking place with the US administration, said the high representative.
“We will undertake measures based on discussions with the US administration,” he told journalists outside the State Guest House Jamuna.
Among others, Information Adviser Mahfuj Alam, Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin, Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain, Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H. Mansur, and NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan attended the meeting.
Earlier, the United States announced a 37 percent tariff on imports from Bangladesh as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping new "Reciprocal Tariffs" policy.
Bd-pratidin English/FNC
