On February 12, Bangladesh is set to hold its general elections, and in a swift move, interim Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus announced a trade agreement with the United States. This agreement stipulates that a new bilateral trade pact has led the US to reduce tariffs on Bangladeshi imports to 19 percent. Yunus emphasized that the deal allows for duty-free access to specific textiles and garments made from US materials, paving the way for enhanced trade relations between the two countries.

The agreement follows over nine months of negotiations, during which the US had initially proposed tariffs as high as 37 percent on Bangladeshi exports. Throughout these discussions, both nations worked toward a compromise, ultimately leading to a relatively modest tariff of 20 percent imposed last August before the recent tariff reduction. Yunus took to social media platform X to express that Washington has committed to creating a zero-tariff access framework for select Bangladeshi clothing items made with American materials, suggesting a significant step forward in trade facilitation.

While the tariff reduction is viewed as a positive outcome for Bangladesh's economy, some critics argue that the marginal 1 percent reduction may not suffice in the long term to compete effectively in the global market. This trade deal could have implications for both countries' economic strategies, particularly in light of Bangladesh's election context, emphasizing the delicate balance of trade benefits as political negotiations unfold in the region.