The Exporters Association of Sri Lanka (EASL) has welcomed the decision by the United States to apply a 10% tariff on imports from Sri Lanka, saying the move will help preserve the competitiveness of Sri Lankan products in the country’s largest export market.
The EASL said the 10% rate was a significant improvement compared with the substantially higher tariffs proposed previously and would provide greater certainty to Sri Lankan exporters.
The association thanked President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the Government and officials involved in negotiations with the United States, saying their efforts had helped safeguard exporters and thousands of livelihoods dependent on the sector.
According to the EASL, the tariff places Sri Lanka on an equal footing with several key competitors, including Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Cambodia.
The association said maintaining tariff parity was particularly important for industries such as apparel, where profit margins are relatively thin and international buyers closely compare costs among sourcing destinations.
It noted that even a tariff difference of 2.5 percentage points could significantly affect Sri Lanka’s competitiveness.
While welcoming the decision, the EASL called on Sri Lanka to pursue a comprehensive bilateral trade arrangement with the United States to secure greater certainty, improve market access and strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries.
The association said recent developments demonstrated how rapidly international trade policies could change and stressed the importance of establishing a more stable and predictable trading environment for Sri Lankan exporters. (Newswire)