Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed on Wednesday said that the details of Bangladesh’s recent negotiations with the United States on tariff issues do not need to be made public.
“There are some matters that cannot be made public. I won’t say more than this now,” he said when reporters asked him to disclose details regarding the recent negotiations between Bangladesh and the US on tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration.
The adviser made these remarks after meetings of the Advisers Council Committee on Economic Affairs and the Advisers Council Committee on Government Purchase at the Secretariat.
“This is not multilateral negotiation, this is not WTO, this is not the UN where there will be resolution and everyone will know the details,” he said.
When asked whether he was satisfied with the 20% additional tariff on Bangladeshi exports to the US, he said, “I would have been happier if the rate was brought down a bit further. Though it’s not perfect it is still comfortable.”
The former Bangladesh Bank governor said the rate has come down from 35% to 20%. “Compared to other countries, we can say Bangladesh is not in a bad position,” he added.
He also said that knitwear factories of the country will be able to adjust the matter quickly while the weaver factories have to face some challenges due to lack of a backward linkage system.
“The agreement hasn’t been signed yet. We will review where we can further reduce duties,” he added.
Regarding the much-talked-about reforms by the interim government, the finance adviser said that the government has implemented some short-term reforms, but mid- and long-term reforms will more time, adding that Bangladesh Bank has prepared a roadmap for the banking sector.
“Capital market is also trying to bring some reforms, so some progress is expected there,” he added.
He also said that the government will make some amendments in the NBR Ordinance that will divide the NBR into the Revenue Policy and the Revenue Management Divisions.
Salehuddin also said that the government is undertaking relevant projects which can be implemented quickly as the interim government has limited time.
Replying to a question regarding the success of the government in the last one year, he said the economy of the country has made a turnaround from the verge of falling into a ditch, saying that the country was in a precarious situation in the economic sector, but things have become much more comfortable.
Regarding inflation, he said that it has been brought down to a relatively manageable level. “It will take more time to fully stabilise. Non-food related inflation still poses a challenge,” he added.