Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir on Saturday rejected the allegations cited by the United States in imposing heavy tariffs on Bangladesh, calling them completely baseless.
Speaking at an event at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Sylhet, Muktadir said the specific claim behind the tariff action had no foundation. He said tariffs imposed by a president to address balance-of-payments concerns could remain in effect for a maximum of 150 days.
The United States imposed a new 10 percent tariff on imports from Bangladesh after concluding that the country had not taken sufficient steps to prevent the import of raw materials produced with forced labor.
The tariff was announced by the Office of the United States Trade Representative following a Section 301 investigation involving 60 countries. It took effect July 24, 2026, and raised the total duty on Bangladeshi garment exports to the United States to 25.62 percent.
Bangladesh was placed in the lower of two tariff tiers, while some competing exporters face a 12.5 percent duty.