Dhaka, Feb. 2 -- Bangladesh and the United States are set to open a new chapter in bilateral commercial relations with the signing of a trade agreement on February 9.

The initiative is aimed at easing Washington's "reciprocal tariff" and expanding mutual market access between the two countries.

Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman told reporters at the Secretariat on Sunday that the ministry had already sent a summary seeking approval of the draft agreement and authorisation for signing it on the scheduled date.

"Once the approval comes, we will be able to take the final course of action," he said.

Earlier, the US announced a 37 per cent reciprocal tariff on Bangladeshi goods and it later revised it to 35 per cent while keeping room for...