SL mission visit to US, premature?
View(s):Sections of Sri Lanka’s garment industry are concerned over an impending visit to the US by a delegation to discuss tariffs on Sri Lankan products.
“We were not consulted on what this delegation was going to do. We were totally unaware,” one garment business owner said, adding: “The government should have consulted the industry before deciding on such a mission.”
He said it was too early to assess the impact on potential new tariffs on Sri Lankan products and “we should have waited under the radar to see how the US decision pans out instead of ‘jumping’ the gun.”
The Sunday Times reported last week that a Sri Lanka delegation that will travel to the US next month plans to discuss with the US Trade Office how it can avoid reciprocal tariffs on imports that will come into effect from April 2.
According to columnist Prof. Sirimal Abeyratne (see Page 2), Sri Lankan exports to the US are subjected to a single tariff rate, typically ranging from zero to 10 per cent, with some exceeding 10 per cent. Unlike Sri Lanka, the US imposes no para-tariffs, or non-tariff barriers, or numerous domestic taxes on imports. US goods imports from Sri Lanka totalled US$3 billion in 2024 with over 70 per cent of produce from the garment sector going to the US, making it one the country’s largest trading partners.
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