United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh should not be overly concerned about potential reciprocal tariffs from the United States, said Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), on Saturday. Speaking at a seminar titled “U.S. Reciprocal Tariff and Way Forward for Bangladesh”, Dr. Bhattacharya asserted, “I say this with responsibility. The impact of the tariffs is also affecting our competitor countries. As a result, we are not losing too much in comparative competition.” The seminar was jointly organised by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD), and held at DCCI’s Motijheel headquarters. Dr. Debapriya presented the keynote paper. Describing the US counter-tariff regime as a “toxic tariff treatment,” he said the measures under the new US administration appear more politically motivated than economically sound. He questioned the effectiveness of President Trump’s counter-tariff policy, expressing doubt that it would deliver on its intended goals, or be readily accepted by the market. According to Debapriya, the policy is flawed in its reliance on goods trade deficits as the basis for imposing duties, overlooking the rapid expansion of the global service sector. He also noted the instability caused by annual tariff adjustments, which he said discourages investment. Policy Research Institute launches Monthly Macroeconomic Insights Debapriya urged policymakers to treat this challenge as an opportunity to implement long-overdue trade and policy reforms. Commerce Secretary Md Mahbubur Rahman said Bangladesh is now prioritising bilateral discussions with the US rather than relying solely on multilateral forums. Bangladesh believes it is currently on the right diplomatic and trade path, which is why it has not tabled any formal proposal at the World Trade Organization (WTO), he added. Mahbub revealed that talks are ongoing with the US on 100 specific Bangladeshi products, including a review of how US imports from third countries are accounted for in trade figures. He warned that if the US does not accept Bangladesh's position, the country may revise its import policies—possibly banning imports from those third countries. Such a policy already applies to certain automotive imports. He also pointed to recent steps to reduce trade barriers, including the scrapping of unnecessary radioactivity tests. Special guests at the seminar included Mahbubur Rahman, President of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Bangladesh, and Moinul Khan, Chairman of the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission.

Bangladesh will emphasise on reducing trade gap in negotiations with the Trump administration, said Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed speaking about his coming trip to the USA. “We’ll put more emphasis on reducing the trade gap between the USA and Bangladesh. Currently, we export more than the amount they export to Bangladesh”, he told reporters after the two consecutive meetings of the Advisers Council Committee on Economic Affairs (ACCEA) and Advisers Council Committee on Government Purchase (ACCGP) on Thursday. A Bangladesh delegation, led by the finance advisor, is scheduled to leave for the USA on April 19 to attend the Spring Meeting-2025 of World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). It will return home on April 29. Salehuddin, however, said it might not be possible to bring the gap to a zero level right at this moment. “But we’ll try to increase the import from USA… We can import more energy products, capital machinery from the USA”, he said. He mentioned that Bangladeshi officials will mainly discuss with US officials, specially, the US Treasury Department in this regard. He also mentioned that the Bangladesh team will hold meetings with about 70 US companies including Chevron. There will be multilateral level meetings with the US private sector beyond the US government officials. Govt approves ordinance to prevent bank fund looting: Adviser Rizwana “We’ll sit with the US companies to discuss how we can raise our import from the USA”… Opening of GSP by the USA will get extra focus of our effort, how said.  He also said that the Bangladesh delegation will meet the World Bank and other international multilateral donor agencies like the IMF and ADB. “We will discuss getting some budget support from them. Two agreements might be signed with the World Bank”, he added.

The Trump administration announced late Friday that it will exempt certain electronics, including smartphones and laptops, from reciprocal tariffs. The move is expected to ease pressure on consumers and offer a boost to major tech firms like Apple, Samsung, and chipmakers such as Nvidia, AP reports. US Customs and Border Protection said that items like smartphones, laptops, hard drives, flat-panel monitors, and some chips will be excluded from the current 145% tariffs on Chinese goods and 10% tariffs applied to other countries. Semiconductor manufacturing equipment will also be exempt. Late on Saturday, while travelling to Miami, Trump said he would give more details of the exemptions at the start of next week. Apple unlikely to make iPhones in US despite Trump’s China tariffs "We'll be very specific," he told reporters on Air Force One. "But we're taking in a lot of money. As a country we're taking in a lot of money." The move came after concerns from US tech companies that the price of gadgets could skyrocket, as many of them are made in China. Exemptions - backdated to April 5 - also include other electronic devices and components, including semiconductors, solar cells and memory cards, reports BBC. Trump had previously suggested the trade war could encourage Apple to manufacture iPhones in the US, but industry experts have long doubted that prospect given Apple’s complex supply chain in China. Relocating iPhone production would require years of planning and billions in investment, potentially tripling the cost of the product and slashing its sales. The new exemption echoes relief measures granted during Trump’s first term, when similar tariffs were imposed. Trump entered his second term with a more aggressive approach to tariffs, which sparked a market slide. The "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks—Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Tesla, Google parent Alphabet, and Facebook parent Meta—saw a $2.1 trillion drop in combined market value, or 14%, since April 2, when sweeping tariffs were unveiled. That loss narrowed to $644 billion after Trump paused tariffs outside of China last Wednesday.

Asian shares soared on Thursday, with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index surging over 2,000 points shortly after the Tokyo market opened, following President Donald Trump’s decision to ease tariffs on most of the US’s biggest trading partners. The regional market rally was anticipated after US stocks had their best day in history on Wednesday. Investor optimism grew after Trump announced he would ease tariff tensions, alleviating fears of an escalating trade war, AP reports. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 8.3% to 34,353.17, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 4.7% to 7,722.90. South Korea’s Kospi rose by 5.5% to 2,419.37, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 3.7% to 21,003.84. The Shanghai Composite increased 1.5% to 3,232.86. US stocks jitter as bonds strain amid tariff tensions Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, described the shift as "from fear to euphoria". He said, “It’s now a manageable risk, especially as global recession tail bets get unwound, and most of Asia’s exporters breathe a massive sigh of relief.” Trump’s move came after recognising over 75 countries that had been negotiating on trade without retaliating against his tariff hikes. The US President confirmed that he would pause most of the tariffs on these nations for 90 days. However, he maintained a 10% tariff on nearly all global imports, with China remaining a notable exception. Trump announced that tariffs on Chinese goods would rise to 125%, indicating the potential for further market volatility. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 surged by 9.5%, marking a gain that would be considered strong for an entire year. This came after a period of significant market losses, as fears mounted that the trade war could drag the global economy into recession. But after Trump’s announcement on social media, investor sentiment shifted positively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 2,962 points, or 7.9%, while the Nasdaq composite leapt 12.2%. The S&P 500 recorded its third-best day since 1940.