US overtakes India in trade to rank second

Driven by a sharp surge in imports over the past year, the United States has officially overtaken India to become Bangladesh’s second-largest trading partner—marking a significant shift in the country's bilateral trade dynamics. On the other hand, both imports and exports with India have decreased. Meanwhile, China remains in the top position by a large margin. After being in the second position for 16 years, India has now slipped to third place. A big factor in this change is the increase in imports from the US. Bangladesh's imports from the United States have grown by 43 per cent in one year. Exports have increased slightly—by about 4 per cent. On the other hand, imports from India have decreased by approximately 7. 5 per cent, and exports to the country have decreased by about 3 per cent.

During discussions regarding counter tariffs by the United States, Bangladesh took initiatives to increase imports from that country. In the public sector, purchases of wheat and energy have increased, while in the private sector, soybean seeds and cotton purchases have grown. There is also a deal to purchase 14 aircraft from the US company Boeing. Importers say that along with trade benefits, the quality of products and assurance of supply have encouraged them to buy more from the US. Conversely, businessmen believe that trade disruptions amid strained political relations between Bangladesh and India have harmed business between the two countries. According to the National Board of Revenue's (NBR) data, in the last fiscal year, the trade (import-export) between Bangladesh and the United States was 12. 67 billion dollars. With India, it was 10. 72 billion dollars, meaning that the trade between Bangladesh and the United States was 1. 95 billion dollars more than with India.…