The US has said it needs Bangladesh to remove certain “non-tariff barriers” to boost American investment in the country.
US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs S Paul Kapur raised the issue during a meeting with Commerce, Industry, Textiles and Jute Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir.
The meeting was held at the Minister for Commerce’s office at the Secretariat on Wednesday. US Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent T Christensen and Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman also attended the meeting.
Afterwards, Muktadir told the media that the US is Bangladesh’s “largest single country” trading partner.
He said that general discussions were held on various issues including economic relations, trade relations, future investments, and cooperation in developing Bangladesh’s digital infrastructure.
The minister said the US side mentioned some obstacles to American investment coming to Bangladesh in the future.
He said, “We have some non-tariff barriers. If these are removed, Bangladesh will be eligible for the development finance that they have.”
On Feb 9, a reciprocal tariff agreement was signed between Bangladesh and the US. In response to a question from journalists whether there was any discussion at the meeting on the agreement, Muktadir said: “The agreement did not come up as a topic of discussion today.”
Regarding criticism of the agreement, the minister said: “The agreement has been signed. However, there is a process of some formalisation involved before it is implemented.”
He said, “In any agreement, there are demands from both parties. Some clauses are in favour of one party, while some clauses are in favour of the other party. An attempt is made through negotiations to reach a point where a ‘win-win’ situation is created for both.”
The minister said, “There are many clauses in this agreement, through which commercial relations can be strengthened in the coming days. I do not see it as a wholesale negative or wholesale positive right now. It is an agreement. It is a reality.”
Muktadir also said, “No agreement has an end of life. Every agreement has clauses for its own self-care. If ever we have some evidence that any clause needs to be added, subtracted or changed, there is always scope for further negotiation.”
When asked about visa bond for businessmen, the minister said that the matter will be looked into by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He said, “We always want our businessmen, investors and businessmen from their countries to be able to travel freely and easily between the two countries and that no obstacles are raised over this.”
US Assistant Secretary of State Paul Kapur arrived in Dhaka on Tuesday with the aim of strengthening the “strategic bond” between Bangladesh and the US.
This is the first high-level visit by the United States to the country since the formation of the new BNP government under the leadership of Tarique Rahman.
