President Dissanayake has written to Donald Trump on US tariffs issue - Minister
April 8, 2025 12:08 pm
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has personally written to United States President Donald Trump on ways to mitigate the impact and reduce the tariffs imposed recently, Deputy Minister of Economic Development Anil Jayantha Fernando announced in Parliament.
Deputy Minister Fernando said the White House has also acknowledged the letter sent by the Head of State.
Deputy Minister of Economic Development Anil Jayantha stressed that the new government is focused on reducing the trade deficit with the United States in response to the reciprocal tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump.
In response to a question raised by New Democratic Front (NDF) Parliamentarian Ravi Karunanayake in Parliament today, Deputy Minister Fernando noted that data from the last five years indicate the trade deficit with the US is at 88 per cent.
The Deputy Minister of Economic Development noted that apparel, food and three other items account for 85 per cent of the total exports to the United States.
He said they are subject to tariffs and paratariffs, but the recent levies announced by President Donald Trump were calculated based on the trade deficit between countries and the US.
Deputy Minister Anil Jayantha Fernando defended the actions of the incumbent government saying they took proactive and reactive measures to lessen the adverse impact of the tariffs on local businesses.
The Deputy Minister confirmed another round of discussions will be held tonight (8) with the Office of the US Trade Representatives.
Deputy Minister Fernando noted that the Sri Lankan Ambassador to the US has been actively discussing with the Trump administration since February this year.
He said discussions were held previously with US representatives where it was acknowledged that the on-going situation is not merely between Sri Lanka and the US.
Deputy Minister Anil Jayantha Fernando said countries like India did not manage to reduce the tariffs as the calculation was made by a common formula.
He said therefore the government will take pragmatic decisions to lessen the impact the tariffs will have on local businesses.
