Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman told Samakal that he received the green signal to reduce the countervailing duties on the first day of the third round of talks to reduce the announced countervailing duties with the United States. He said on WhatsApp at 8 am Bangladesh time today from Washington DC, "Fruitful discussions were held with the United States on July 29 as per the agenda and we have received an understanding from officials of the country's Trade Representative (USTR) office that the duties imposed on Bangladesh will be reduced."

The Commerce Secretary also said, 'Our tariffs will be reduced considerably. But it is not possible to say how much it will be right now. We have meetings today and tomorrow as well. I hope something good will happen for Bangladesh.'

The meeting of the Bangladesh delegation with the United States began in Washington DC on Tuesday at 12:30 pm local time and ended at 5:30 pm (3:30 am Bangladesh time) on the first day of discussions. The three-day talks are scheduled to end tomorrow, Thursday. The Bangladesh delegation is being led by Trade Advisor Sheikh Bashiruddin. Also present are National Security Advisor Khalilur Rahman, Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman and Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Nazneen Kausar Chowdhury. Top officials of the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington were also present at the meeting. Officials from various ministries and departments also participated virtually.

The US side is led by Assistant Trade Representative Brendan Lynch. He is accompanied by trade and customs officials. This information was obtained from sources in the Ministry of Commerce and the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington.

The United States has announced a 35 percent counter-tariff on Bangladeshi goods, which is scheduled to take effect on August 1. Bangladesh is trying to reduce the counter-tariff by increasing imports from the United States and promising to reduce tariffs on their products. Before Donald Trump's new tariff policy, the country currently had an average tariff of 15.5 percent on Bangladeshi goods. Currently, it is 22 to 23 percent.

President Donald Trump announced retaliatory tariffs on 60 countries, including Bangladesh, on April 2. However, on April 9, the Trump administration suspended the retaliatory tariffs on all countries for three months, keeping the additional 10 percent tariff for all. Before the suspension period expired, Trump announced a new retaliatory tariff rate of 35 percent for Bangladesh on July 8. After the country-specific retaliatory tariffs are implemented, the additional 10 percent for all will be coordinated with it.