Bangladesh’s interim authorities plans to signal a secret tariff settlement with the US on February 9, simply three days earlier than the nation’s parliamentary elections and a couple of week after India secured a commerce with the US. The transfer has sparked issues amongst enterprise leaders and analysts as a result of its timing and lack of transparency, because the contents stay confidential underneath a non-disclosure settlement signed between the 2 nations.Issues have been raised over plans to signal the settlement within the last days of the federal government’s tenure, primarily as a result of particulars of the draft stay undisclosed, as reported by Bangladesh Every day Prothom Alo. Bangladesh has already signed a non-disclosure settlement (NDA) with the US, retaining all points of the proposed deal confidential.
Thus, if the settlement is signed on February 9, it can come simply days earlier than the interim authorities’s time period is about to finish, with voting for the thirteenth parliamentary election. The timing additionally means, it is going to be signed every week after US president Donald Trump introduced it is commerce cope with India, resulting in tariff discount to 18 per cent.Particulars of the newly introduced India–US commerce settlement are anticipated to change into clearer within the coming days, with Union commerce and trade minister Piyush Goyal confirming that the primary tranche of the bilateral pact is prepared. A joint assertion is probably going throughout the subsequent 4 to 5 days, after which the US is anticipated to challenge an govt order lowering tariffs to 18 per cent. The formal authorized settlement is anticipated to be signed round mid-March.Learn extra: India-US commerce deal – Joint assertion in subsequent 4–5 days; settlement possible by mid-March, says Piyush GoyalThe enterprise leaders are fearful about potential destructive impacts on varied sectors and query why such a big resolution is being made by a short lived authorities.BGMEA senior vice chairman Inamul Haque Khan expressed shock on the timing, saying, “I nonetheless imagine this could have been performed after the election, as a result of it carries main implications.” “Based mostly on the goal for purchases from the US, it may be anticipated that the reciprocal tariff price will come down to fifteen per cent (at present 20 per cent). I had heard that nationwide safety adviser Khalilur Rahman had streamlined this. I used to be shocked to see the signing of the settlement come simply three days earlier than the election. I nonetheless imagine this could have been performed after the election, as a result of it carries main implications,” he added.Equally, DCCI president Taskeen Ahmed added that the interim authorities might have averted this rushed resolution.The negotiations and issues linger from April 2025, when US President Donald Trump introduced reciprocal tariffs on 100 nations, initially setting Bangladesh’s price at 37 per cent. By negotiations, this was ultimately diminished to twenty per cent in August final yr.The US included varied situations within the settlement. These embody requiring Bangladesh to cut back Chinese language imports, improve American navy gear purchases, and settle for US requirements with out further inspections. The deal additionally goals to spice up US agricultural exports to Bangladesh and ease entry for American vehicles.Commerce secretary Mahbubur Rahman confirmed the signing date and however is not going to journey to Washington in-person. As a substitute, a five-member delegation from Bangladesh will journey to Washington for the occasion, in accordance with a Bangladesh authorities order (GO) issued by their ministry of commerce on February 3.The delegation shall be led by Khadija Nazneen, Extra Secretary on the Ministry of Commerce and head of the World Commerce Group (WTO) Wing. The opposite members are Joint Secretaries Firoz Uddin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman, Senior Assistant Secretary Sheikh Shamsul Arefin, and Nationwide Board of Income (NBR) Commissioner Rais Uddin Khan. As per the GO, the delegation is scheduled to depart Dhaka on Friday, February 6, and return on or round February 10.The interim authorities has just lately made different important long-term selections, together with port administration agreements with worldwide firms. CPD distinguished fellow Debapriya Bhattacharya criticized the shortage of transparency, stating, “This isn’t only a tariff settlement with the US however one with long-term implications. It should be considered holistically, together with its geopolitical and political dimensions.“Critics argue that whereas retaining such agreements confidential is frequent observe, they’re sometimes signed by elected governments accountable to parliament and residents. The rushed timing and secretive nature of the settlement have led to hypothesis about whether or not it unnecessarily constrains the incoming elected authorities’s choices.
