Sri Lankan delegation to visit US to negotiate on Trump tariff

Colombo | A Sri Lankan delegation will be in Washington this week to press ahead with further negotiations on US President Donald Trump's tariff on the island nation before the August 1 deadline ends, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said.

“They will leave on July 18 to try and work out a bilateral agreement," Herath told reporters on Tuesday.

He said Sri Lanka would try its best to win a further reduction in tariff from the 30 per cent indicated in the letter received from the Trump administration last week.

The Trump administration imposed a 44 per cent tariff on Sri Lanka in April, compared to 88 per cent by the island nation on US goods.

The deadline for negotiations ends on August 1.

The Sri Lankan government has been facing pressure from the local industry to win a tariff reduction as it threatens tens of thousands of jobs and would adversely affect the island nation's recovery from the 2022 economic crisis.

Sri Lanka exports USD 3 billion worth of goods, mostly apparel, and imports USD 300 million worth of items from the US.

The export industry analysts say the island nation would be hard hit by the advantageous position created by the Trump tariffs for Sri Lanka's competitors, including Bangladesh and Vietnam.