On August 1, Trump reduced the tariffs that had previously been imposed on Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. He made this decision after reaching trade agreements with these South Asian countries.
Under these agreements, Pakistan agreed to purchase crude oil from the United States. To this end, Pakistan and the U.S. signed a trade deal. The first shipment of crude oil imported from the U.S. was scheduled to arrive at Karachi, Pakistan, by the end of October—and it did arrive on the expected date.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, reached an agreement to import wheat flour from the United States. Following several rounds of lengthy discussions, on October 7, the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchases of Bangladesh approved the purchase of 220,000 metric tons of wheat from the U.S. This was a direct outcome of the memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries. In addition, Bangladesh agreed to purchase agricultural products, such as soybeans and cotton, from the U.S., as well as to purchase 25 American aircraft.
After Trump’s tariff reductions, both Pakistan and Bangladesh promptly began implementing the trade agreements they had reached with the United States.
Although Trump reduced the tariff on Sri Lanka by up to 20%, Sri Lanka has yet to implement any of the trade agreements agreed upon with the U.S. In September, a U.S. trade delegation arrived in Sri Lanka to hold discussions on these trade deals. Although both sides agreed to hold another round of talks, no specific date was set, as no final agreement had been reached.
During the delegation’s stay in Sri Lanka, the Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation stated that all necessary testing requirements concerning U.S. crude oil had been completed and that tenders would soon be called. This was in keeping with the agreement reached to purchase U.S. crude oil. However, reports indicate that the testing process has not yet been finalized. Sri Lanka received U.S. crude oil samples for testing in August.
According to sources the United States has issued a final notice urging Sri Lanka to immediately implement the trade agreements reached as part of the tariff reduction context, but Sri Lanka has not yet responded to that notice.
