FILE PHOTO: Employees sew garments inside a garment factory in Katunayake on the outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 3, 2025. Sri Lanka’s economy is heavily reliant on the US market for exports, with US$3 billion worth of goods, mostly garments, shipped last year. - Reuters
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka expects to continue negotiations with the US after President Donald Trump’s decision to reduce tariffs on the island nation is seen as a "good start” by Colombo which had primarily negotiated to preserve its competitive advantage, Treasury Secretary Harshana Suriyapperuma said Thursday (July 10).
US President Donald Trump imposed a 30 per cent levy on goods from Sri Lanka after the July 9 deadline passed without a deal in place. The new tariff is lower than the earlier 44 per cent imposed on Sri Lanka, and also below the 35 per cent and 36 per cent levied on countries like Bangladesh and Cambodia respectively which compete to ship a similar basket of goods.
