Sri Lanka holds fresh talks with USTR on further tariff reduction

Saturday, 19 July 2025 01:11 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Finance Ministry yesterday announced that it will hold continuous discussions with the US Trade Representative (USTR) to further reduce the recently proposed 30% import tariff on Sri Lankan goods.

The online meeting, led by Treasury Secretary Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma and other relevant Government officials to promote trade and investment relations between the two countries, follows earlier negotiations that saw the original 44% tariff imposed under the US President Donald Trump’s new universal tariff policy lowered to 30%.

This new tax policy was strongly opposed by countries around the world and China stated that it would take strong countermeasures if this tax was not removed. The European Union (EU) had also stated that it would oppose it in a united manner.

In such a context, the Government immediately initiated discussions with the USTR and took steps to reach revised agreements for this purpose.

Sri Lanka hopes to secure additional concessions to safeguard its export competitiveness and strengthen bilateral trade and investment ties.