Joint Statement on United States – Bangladesh Agreement on Reciprocal Trade

Key Points

• The United States and Bangladesh have reached a new trade agreement to make it easier and cheaper for both countries to sell products to each other. Bangladesh will lower barriers for American goods like cars, medical devices, and farm products including beef, poultry, and dairy.
• The U.S. will lower taxes, known as tariffs, on goods coming from Bangladesh to 19%, with some specific items dropping to 0%. A special deal for clothing and textiles will allow some items to enter the U.S. tax-free, as long as Bangladesh continues to buy American-made cotton and fabric materials.
• Bangladesh has agreed to follow U.S. safety and health standards for cars and medical supplies, which means American companies can sell their products there without changing how they are made. They also promised to stop charging extra fees on digital downloads and to allow data to move freely across borders.
• As part of the deal, Bangladesh will improve its laws to protect workers' rights, ban products made with forced labor, and enforce stricter environmental rules. They also agreed to protect American brand names for foods like meat and cheese so that local competitors cannot use those specific names.
• The agreement includes several large business deals, including Bangladesh buying $3.5 billion in American farm products like wheat and soy. They also plan to buy $15 billion worth of American energy products over the next 15 years and purchase new aircraft from U.S. companies.

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