Dhaka, July 28 -- Bangladesh is expected to assure increasing import volume from the US by US$1.5 billion over next one and a half years as part of a tradeoff package for a probable tariff deal.

An official source says Bangladesh and the US are expected to sign a deal titled 'Agreement on Reciprocal Trade Framework' if both sides are agreed on their desired demands.

A commerce ministry source gave the import-augmentation indication Monday as a high-powered government delegation left for Washington amid cautious optimism for a fair and square deal to avert the antedated 35-percent prohibitive duties on Bangladeshi exports.

Dhaka is likely to make the offer to the United States Trade Representative during the meetings on reciprocal tarif...