Sri Lanka, Aug. 7 -- The President made this statement while addressing Parliament during a parliamentary debate on the country's economic situation.

He further stated that certain agreements had been reached during the discussions held so far, and as a result, the tariff rate has been reduced to 20%.

"We get 44% based on our Trade deficit. That is their principle. We consider reducing it from 44% to 20% as an important outcome of the discussions and the agreement between them and us," President Dissanayake noted.

He also added, "if you were expecting a collapse of the economy based on the U.S. tax policy that is over now. There is still no final agreement. We had 20%. We are still trying, and we have started discussions, to see if we ...