Govt looks to amicable solution

Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed on Tuesday said the government is expecting an amicable solution of the complications created over imposition of 'reciprocal tariff' by the Trump administration.

"We responded positively. We hope we will cooperate (with them) and they will also cooperate (with us)," he said.

"It will be a win-win situation," the adviser told journalists, after a meeting of the Advisers' Council Committee on Government Purchase at Bangladesh secretariat. "I hope the issue will be resolved."

The meeting approved procurement proposals for lentils, rice, liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The adviser pointed out that the prices are going down from the previous levels and said the interim-government facilitated participation of suppliers in the public sector bids, encouraging many to submit tenders and making the process competitive. "Therefore, we are getting reasonable prices."

Meanwhile, Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin said he is yet to receive any response from the United States Trade Representative

(USTR) regarding the commerce ministry's letter related to 'reciprocal tariff'. "The basic issue is lessening the trade deficit. We are working on it," he told the journalists, following the same meeting.

syful-islam@outlook.com