Dhaka, Feb. 21 -- Bangladesh was not alone in reaching a trade agreement with the United States (US) under what can only be described as asymmetrical reciprocity. The governing principle of the US-Bangladesh Reciprocal Trade Agreement is clear: access to the world's largest single-country market is a privilege-earned by fully opening up one's own market that was judged as highly restrictive. In exchange for scaling back the punitive 37 per cent "reciprocal tariff" imposed in April 2025 to 19 per cent, Bangladesh has committed to sweeping tariff elimination, regulatory adjustments, and expanded imports aimed at reducing the persistent U.S. trade deficit with Bangladesh

This was the culmination of a long journey of negotiations, mostly und...