Sri Lanka expects US tariff relief soon, says envoy

Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the US, Mahinda Samarasinghe, said that the island nation can expect tariff concessions from the US in the near future.

He made these remarks while attending a farewell event held in his honour at a Buddhist temple in Washington DC, ahead of his departure from the ambassadorial post.

US President Donald Trump had recently proposed imposing an additional import tariff on goods imported from 60 countries, including Sri Lanka, citing insufficient measures taken to prevent the importation of goods produced using forced labour.

This comes against the backdrop of the 10% tariff imposed on Sri Lanka being due to expire on the 24th of this month.

An additional 12.5%, currently proposed, is scheduled to come into effect on goods, including garments, imported by the US from Sri Lanka.

However, apparel exporters have pointed out that this would be detrimental to their industry, since competitor countries to Sri Lanka in garment exports to the US, such as Bangladesh and Vietnam, have only a 10% tariff imposed on them.

Against this backdrop, the government recently took steps to ban the importation of goods produced using forced labour.

The relevant extraordinary gazette notification was issued by the President, in his capacity as Minister of Finance, on the 10th, banning the importation of any goods mined, produced, or finished, in whole or in part, using forced labour.

Accordingly, the gazette notification stated that importers of goods originating from any country must submit documentation to the Director General of Customs confirming that the goods intended for import have not been mined, produced, or finished, in whole or in part, using forced labour.

Ambassador Mahinda Samarasinghe said that the tariff rate currently proposed is expected to be revised through this gazette notification.