Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed on Wednesday said that the details of Bangladesh’s recent negotiations with the United States on tariff issues do not need to be made public.
“There are some matters that cannot be made public. I will not say more than this now,” he said while reporters asked him to disclose the conditions during the recent negotiations of Bangladesh and the USA on tariff issues.
The adviser made the remarks after holding meetings of the Advisers Council Committee on Economic Affairs and the Advisers Council Committee on Government Purchase held at the Secretariat.
“This is not multilateral negotiation, this is not WTO, this is not UN, where there will be resolution and everyone will know it,” he said.
When asked whether he was satisfied with the 20% additional tariff on Bangladeshi exports to the US, he said: “I would have been happier if the rate were brought down a bit further. Though it’s not perfect, it is still comfortable.”
The former Bangladesh Bank governor said the rate has come down from 35% to 20%. “This is not bad, if you compare with other countries, then we can say Bangladesh is not in a bad position,” he added.
He also said that knitwear factories of the country will be able to adjust to the matter quickly while the woven factories have to face some challenges due to a lack of backward linkage system.
“The agreement hasn’t been signed yet. We will review where we can further reduce duties,” he added.
Regarding the much-talked-about reforms by the interim government, the finance adviser said that this government has inducted some short-term reforms in the financial sectors, while it will take time for mid-term and long-term reforms.
He said that the Bangladesh Bank has prepared a roadmap for the banking sector, which needs time.
“Capital market is also trying to bring some reforms, and some progress is expected there,” he added.
He also said that the government will make some amendments in the NBR Ordinance that will divide the NBR into to Revenue Policy Division and the Revenue Management Division.
Dr Salehuddin also said that the government is taking projects that are very much relevant and which can be implemented quickly, as this interim government has less time.
Replying to a question regarding the success of the government in the last year, he said the economy of the country has made a turnaround from the verge of falling into a ditch.
He said that there were precarious situations in the economic sector, which was a challenge, but now it has come to a more comfortable position.
Regarding inflation, he said it has been brought to a relatively manageable level. “It will take more time to fully stabilise. Non-food inflation still poses a challenge.”
