US imposes 35 percent tariff on Bangladeshi products

US President Donald Trump has reduced the reciprocal tariff imposed by the US on various countries, including Bangladesh, from 37 percent to 35 percent. He made this announcement on his social media account Truth Social on Monday.

In addition to Bangladesh, a new tariff rate has been announced on a total of 14 countries, including South Korea and Japan.

Trump made this announcement as the White House's 90-day tariff break period is about to end.

However, although the tariff was supposed to take effect from July 9, it has been postponed to August 1.

In a letter to Professor Muhammad Yunus, the chief adviser to the interim government of Bangladesh, Trump said: "A 35 percent tariff will be imposed on all Bangladeshi products sent to the United States from August 1, 2025. This will be added separately to the sector-specific tariff. If a product is brought to the United States via a roundabout route to avoid high tariffs, then high tariffs will also be imposed on that product."

The letter also said: "Please understand that a 35 percent tariff is not enough to eliminate the large trade deficit that your country has with our country—this rate is actually much lower than that. You must know that if Bangladesh or a Bangladeshi company builds a factory in the United States and produces products, there will be no tariffs on that product. Rather, we will provide maximum cooperation to grant all approvals quickly, professionally, and in accordance with the rules—meaning that all processes will be completed within a few weeks."

Meanwhile, the United States was supposed to provide Bangladesh with an annex document to the proposed agreement, including a list of products for which Bangladesh wants duty-free benefits, but it was not received until Monday afternoon.

Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman said that the new deadline will provide additional time for negotiations to withdraw or reduce the increased tariffs—to sign the agreement.

Bangladesh was scheduled to meet with officials from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on Tuesday as part of ongoing discussions on the proposed agreement. The USTR postponed the meeting and scheduled it for Wednesday, to which Bangladesh agreed.

On April 2, the Trump administration imposed reciprocal tariffs on Bangladesh at various rates, including a 37 percent tariff. Later, it implemented an additional 10 percent tariff on all countries—the United States suspended the remaining tariffs for three months, which were scheduled to expire on July 9. Now, the Trump administration has announced that it will take effect from August 1.