Bangladesh urges US to ease business travel after visa bond move

Dhaka has requested Washington to ease business travel by Bangladeshis in light of the recent inclusion of the country in the US visa bond.

It also sought to have access to the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) for the private sector, according to a statement from the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing.

The issues were discussed during National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman’s meeting with US Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Jamieson Greer in Washington DC on Thursday afternoon.

During the five-day visit starting on Wednesday, Khalilur also had a separate meeting with Assistant USTR Brendan Lynch.

The US has included Bangladesh on the list of countries whose nationals need to deposit amounts ranging from $5000 to $15,000 for traveling to the US with visit and business visas -- something that was described as “unfortunate” by Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain.

Experts said such decision will make Bangladesh’s tourism to the US difficult. Businessmen having trade with the US said they need to make frequent travels to the US, and the decision will make it challenging for them to strengthen trade ties.

Last year, the US imposed 20 percent reciprocal tariff and sought to narrow trade gap. In 2024, the US imported goods worth $8.37 billion from Bangladesh, while exports to Bangladesh stood at $2.21 billion.

However, in 2025, Bangladesh began importing a broader range of US products, including wheat, cotton and liquefied natural gas (LNG), and will eventually buy Boeing aircraft in the coming years.

In light of the rising trade between the two countries, NSA Khalilur urged Ambassador Greer to ease business travel by Bangladeshis.

He also requested Bangladesh’s access to DFC funding for its private sector, arguing that Bangladesh has made significant progress in the labour sector reforms.

Ambassador Greer assured Rahman of his efforts in these regards.

“Even before the formal execution of the reciprocal trade agreement, Bangladesh has made major strides in reducing the trade gap by substantially increasing imports from the US and has implemented some key aspects of the [tariff] agreement,” Khalilur said.

He proposed to USTR to reduce the reciprocal tariff from current 20 percent. Ambassador Greer agreed to positively consider this proposal.

Ambassador Greer agreed to give serious consideration to Khalilur’s proposal to lower or eliminate US reciprocal tariff on apparel using US content.

Bangladesh Ambassador to the US, Tareq Md Ariful Islam, accompanied the national security adviser.

Khalilur is scheduled to hold talks with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker and US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Paul Kapoor tomorrow.