MOHAMMAD SUMAN

Imports from the US have more than doubled in the first four months of the year, as Bangladesh scrambles to shrink the bilateral trade deficit.

Bangladesh imported goods worth Tk 19,104 crore from the US during January-April, up 101 percent from Tk 9,535 crore a year earlier, according to National Board of Revenue (NBR) data.

Exports to the US in the same period grew by just 3.32 percent to Tk 35,462 crore.

State-owned oil, gas, and minerals corporation Petrobangla, the Directorate General of Food (DG Food), and national flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines accounted for 38 percent of the sum.

Market insiders said the surge in imports reflects commitments made by the interim government to narrow the trade gap during negotiations for the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

Talks on the deal began mid‑2025, and the ART was signed on February 9, only three days before the national election.

“Concerns over an agreement signed shortly before the national election are quite natural,” said Muinul Islam, former economics professor at the Chittagong University.

However, doubt shrouds the future of the deal as the US Supreme Court scrapped President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on February 20.

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