Commerce adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin on Thursday welcomed the US decision to suspend the reciprocal tariffs for most countries for 90 days.
鈥楾his is very good news for us,鈥� said the commerce adviser as he was talking to reporters at the secretariat.
Economists said the interim government should immediately prepare an action plan to negotiate with the US administration in a way so that competitive countries do not gain better advantages.
The commerce adviser observed that the suspension of the new tariffs will help Bangladesh in keeping stability of its exports to the US, the single biggest export destination for Bangladeshi products.
On Wednesday, the US president Donald Trump declared a complete halt on all 鈥榬eciprocal鈥� tariffs that took effect at midnight, with the exception of those imposed on China, Canada, and Mexico.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated that he had 鈥榓uthorized a 90-day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately.鈥�
Commerce ministry officials said they are preparing for using the 90-day pause for the betterment of the exports to the US.
They said they have been maintaining contacts regularly and held a meeting with the United States Trade Representative online onWednesday.
On April 7, Dhaka issued two letters to Washington -- one of them by interim government chief adviser聽 Muhammad Yunus -- requesting a three-month postponement of the tariffs.
The other was by the commerce adviser to the USTR the same day assuring of measures to cut duty to zero on 100 import products soon in addition to the current 190 items.
The commerce adviser also told the USTR that it was examining ways to eliminate all kinds of non-tariff barriers and to make a comprehensive set of reforms aimed at significantly increasing US exports to Bangladesh.
Former World Bank Dhaka office鈥檚 chief economist Zahid Husain said Dhaka should present to Washington a comprehensive plan regarding the implmentation of the commitment.
Dhaka should also be punctual about timelines with Washington regarding talks on tariffs, he said, adding the USTR has to negotiate with about 75 countries as they have asked for not implementing the new tariffs.
The US president has already said that he would reward countries refraining from imposing counter tariffs on the US goods.
Research and Policy Integration for Development chairman MA Razzaque said Dhaka should ensure that the US gives it the same treatment as its competitors.
Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Cambodia, and Laos are Bangladesh鈥檚 main competitors in the US market, he said.
Referring to others countries, including Pakistan, both Zahid and Razzaque said Bangladesh should proactive.
The Pakistan government has decided to send a high-level delegation to the US to address the newly imposed 29 per cent tariff on Pakistani goods exported to the US.
Commerce adviser Bashir said Dhaka would send a team to Washington as early as possible to utilise the 90-day pause.
The commerce ministry is preparing the plans in this regards, he said
The two economists said Dhaka should argue for eliminating the 10 per cent new reciprocal tariff.
Currently, most Bangladeshi goods face a 15 per cent tariff from the US.
In 2024, Bangladesh exported to the US about $8.4 billion in goods, of which $7.34 billion accounted for readymade garments.
The US goods exports to Bangladesh in 2024 were worth $2.2 billion, meaning that the trade deficit was $6.2 billion for the US.