Top USTR official due soon

Brendan Lynch, assistant US trade representative for South and Central Asia, will visit Bangladesh soon, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent T Christensen said yesterday.

Trade experts believe that Lynch, a top official of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), may discuss various trade-related issues during the visit, as Bangladesh and the US signed the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade on February 9 this year.

Ambassador Christensen shared the information during a meeting with Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir at the commerce ministry’s secretariat office in Dhaka, a commerce ministry statement said.

The USTR official’s impending visit to Bangladesh was announced a little over a month after the US government’s chief trade body launched an investigation into 60 economies, including Bangladesh, over alleged failures to address issues related to production capacity and forced labour.

Bangladesh is scheduled to take part in a virtual USTR hearing on the matter on April 29.

Various aspects of strengthening bilateral trade, investment, and economic cooperation between Bangladesh and the US were discussed in yesterday’s meeting.

Christensen noted that expanding bilateral trade would be beneficial for both countries.

The commerce minister said his ministry, along with other relevant ministries, is working on formulating the new Import Policy Order. He expressed hope that the draft of the Import Policy Order 2026 would soon be shared with the business community for feedback.

Both sides expressed interest in further expanding cooperation in trade, investment, and policy matters, the statement read.