JOINT STATEMENT ON FRAMEWORK FOR
UNITED STATES – BANGLADESH AGREEMENT ON RECIPROCAL TRADE
The United States of America (the United States) and the People’s Republic of Bangladesh (Bangladesh) have agreed to an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (Agreement) to strengthen our bilateral economic relationship. The Agreement will provide U.S. and Bangladeshi exporters unprecedented access to each other’s respective markets. The Agreement will build upon our longstanding economic relationship, including the U.S.-Bangladesh Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TIFCA), signed in 2013.
Key terms of the Agreement will include:
- Bangladesh has committed to provide significant preferential market access for U.S. industrial and agricultural goods, including: chemicals; medical devices; machinery and motor vehicles and parts; information and communicational technology (ICT) equipment; energy products; soy products; dairy products; beef; poultry; and tree nuts and fruit.
- The United States will reduce the reciprocal tariff rate, as initially set forth in Executive Order 14257 of April 2, 2025, to 19 percent on originating goods of Bangladesh, and will identify products from the list set out in Annex III (Potential Tariff Adjustments for Aligned Partners) to Executive Order 14346 of September 5, 2025 (Modifying the Scope of Reciprocal Tariffs and Establishing Procedures for Implementing Trade and Security Agreements) to receive a zero percent reciprocal tariff rate.
- The United States commits to establish a mechanism that will allow for certain textile and apparel goods from Bangladesh to receive a zero reciprocal tariff rate. This mechanism will provide that a to-be-specified volume of apparel and textile imports from Bangladesh can enter the United States at this reduced tariff rate, but this volume shall be determined in relation to the quantity of exports of textiles, e.g. U.S. produced cotton and man-made fiber textile inputs, from the United States.
- The United States and Bangladesh commit to address Bangladesh’s non-tariff barriers that affect bilateral trade and investment in priority areas, including by Bangladesh: accepting vehicles built to U.S. Federal motor vehicle safety and emissions standards; accepting U.S. Food and Drug Administration certificates and prior marketing authorizations for medical devices and pharmaceuticals; and removing any import restrictions or licensing requirement on U.S. remanufactured goods or their parts.
- Bangladesh commits to: permit the free transfer of data across trusted borders; support the adoption of a permanent moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions at the World Trade Organization; follow science and risk-based processes to allow the import of safe U.S. food and agricultural goods; remove barriers in the insurance market; digitalize its customs procedures; and adopt and implement good regulatory practices.
- Bangladesh commits to protect internationally recognized labor rights, including: adopting and implementing a prohibition on the importation of goods produced by forced or compulsory labor; amending its labor laws to ensure that workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining are fully protected; and strengthening enforcement of its labor laws.
- Bangladesh commits to: adopt and maintain high levels of environmental protection and effectively enforce its environmental laws; improve customs and trade facilitation; and address distortions caused by subsidies and state-owned enterprises.
- Bangladesh commits to a robust standard for intellectual property protection and enforcement, including ratifying or acceding to and fully implementing certain international intellectual property treaties. Bangladesh commits to groundbreaking provisions on geographical indications that will preserve U.S. market access, particularly for U.S. cheese and meat producers who rely on the use of common names.
- The United States and Bangladesh are committed to strengthening economic and national security alignment to enhance supply chain resilience and innovation through complementary actions to address unfair trade practices worldwide, as well as by combatting duty evasion, cooperating on export controls, and sharing information on inbound investment in our respective territories.
- Bangladesh commits to strengthen and enforce comprehensive anti-corruption laws.
- The United States shall work through its U.S. institutions such as the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM Bank) and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), if eligible, to consider supporting investment financing in critical sectors in Bangladesh in collaboration with U.S. private sector partners, consistent with applicable law.
- Finally, the United States and Bangladesh take note of recent and forthcoming commercial deals in the areas of agriculture, energy, and technology:
- Procurement of aircraft.
- Purchases of approximately $3.5 billion of U.S. agriculture products, including wheat, soy, cotton, and corn.
- Purchases of energy products, with an estimated value of $15 billion over 15 years.
- The United States and Bangladesh, consistent with their respective internal procedures, will promptly finalize the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, and undertake domestic formalities in advance of the Agreement entering into force.

