Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman warned against imposing high tariffs on clothing imports from Bangladesh.
“The idea of putting high tariffs on imports of clothing from Bangladesh is exactly what you shouldn't be doing. That's the kind of thing that is disruptive, raises the cost of living for American consumers, does nothing to make us more secure,” he made the comment during in an interview with the New York Times.
He added: “There is a national security rationale for domestic production, but also for French shoring and for nearshore because stuff that's close by is a lot easier to secure.
“If that's what we're wanting to do, then we would not be levying tariffs on Vietnam and Bangladesh, and we would certainly not be putting tariffs on Canada and Mexico.”
In an effort to boost exports to the United States and reduce the bilateral trade deficit, Bangladesh has proposed granting duty-free access to an additional 100 American products.
Commerce Adviser SK Bashir Uddin made the proposal in a letter to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on Monday.
According to Ministry of Commerce sources, Bangladesh has already unilaterally reduced tariffs to zero on 190 US products in a bid to address existing trade imbalances.
The latest move would bring the total to 290 items.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs.
As a result, Bangladeshi products, like those of any country that imposes tariffs on American products, will be more expensive in the American market from now on.
According to Trump's announcement, tariffs on Bangladeshi goods have been increased to 37%.
Bangladeshi goods previously had an average tariff of 15%, but the new tariffs have now more than doubled.
