REJAUL KARIM BYRON and REFAYET ULLAH MIRDHA

The United States Trade Representative (USTR), the US government’s chief trade negotiation body, wants to see Bangladesh’s work plan on narrowing the bilateral trade gap before the Trump administration makes a call on reciprocal tariffs.

The work plan must not exceed five pages, Brendan Lynch, the assistant USTR for South and Central Asia, told a Bangladesh delegation during a meeting on the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.

He also called for Bangladesh’s work plan on non-tariff issues such as matters related to labour rights and intellectual property rights, The Daily Star has learnt from officials with direct knowledge of the meeting.

In response, the Bangladesh delegation said a draft of the amendment to the labour law has been prepared and Bangladesh will share it before finalising it.

Much difference from the US is unlikely since the draft is based on international standards, the officials said.

At the meeting, the Bangladesh delegation highlighted Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus’s assurance of importing more US goods to narrow the trade gap in his letter to President Donald Trump. They also noted Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin’s letter to USTR Jamieson Greer, offering duty-free import of 100 more US goods along with the existing 190 products.

Trade between the two countries

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