Bangladesh-US Tariff Deal

The world is at present witnessing a Tariff Tsunami initiated by the US President Donald Trump. Following his presidential campaign in which he promised to use tariffs as a central part of his foreign policy strategy, President Donald Trump started the tariff war at the very beginning of his second tenure. On 02 April 2025, he declared 10 per cent universal baseline tariff on nearly all imports, with country-specific "reciprocal" tariffs starting April 09. The declaration resulted in a Global stock market crash which led the US government to pause the new tariffs to allow negotiations. Eventually many countries along with the EU sat in the negotiation table with the US and settled to a new tariff rate. 
For Bangladesh, the Trump administration initially imposed a steep 35 per cent reciprocal tariff on its exports to the U.S.—a dramatic increase from the prior average of around 15 per cent, and one of the highest rates among South Asian exporters. Concerns escalated across Bangladesh’s garment hubs. Thousands feared job losses as U.S. buyers took a “wait-and-see” approach, pulling back on new orders in response to the new 35 per cent tariff. Through negotiations, Bangladesh succeeded in reducing the tariff to 20 per cent, effective from 01 August. Reducing the reciprocal tariff from 35 per cent to 20 per cent was hailed domestically as a historic diplomatic victory for Bangladesh. The reciprocal tariff rate for Bangladesh is similar to its fellow Asian competitors such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka while it is far lower than some of its neighbours like Myanmar and India. 
The future trajectory of this US initiated tariff war still remain uncertain. A U.S. federal appeals court recently ruled that most of Trump’s sweeping tariffs—those imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)—are illegal. The court held that IEEPA doesn’t grant authority to impose tariffs, a function traditionally reserved for Congress. Despite the ruling, these tariffs remain in effect through October 14, 2025, to allow time for a possible appeal to the Supreme Court. It is also uncertain whether Trump would continue the punitively high tariff rates for India and China. In a strategic move China, India and Russia are now coming closer as reflected in the recent Sanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. Such developments are supposed to have impact on Trump’s Tariff war making the future trajectory even more uncertain.
In this uncertain situation, the new US tariff structure has created both opportunities and challenges for Bangladesh. On the one hand, the US trade war with China has created the possibility of relocation of some industries from China to Bangladesh. On the other hand, businesses are apprehending increasing competition in Europe caused by the US tariff on all fellow exporters of Bangladesh. In the US market also, though Bangladesh would face tariff similar to its competitors, there is concern about shrinking US market caused by its tariff war. 
Given that the US is a major export destination of Bangladesh’s narrow export basket, the evolving situation created by the evolving US tariff needs instant attention of the policy makers, businessmen and experts. It is in this background that Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies is going to organize a seminar on Bangladesh-US Tariff Deal: How to Optimise Trade Benefit” on 24 September 2025. 

The Objectives of the Seminar are:

•    To examine the probable impact of new tariff deal on Bangladesh economy including export, manufacturing, employment and inflation. 
•    To find out the avenues through which Bangladesh can benefit out of Trump’s tariff war.
•    To examine Bangladesh’s preparedness and identify challenges in harnessing the newly created opportunities.
•    To provide short-term and long-term suggestions for Bangladesh so that the country can better deal with such situations in the future.
The Seminar will be attended by renowned academics, policy makers, representatives from businesses and other relevant stakeholders.