Dhaka plans to buy 25 Boeing jets as trade talks enter final phase

Bangladesh has expanded its plan to buy Boeing aircraft from 14 to 25 in a last-ditch effort to persuade the Trump administration to lower tariffs on its exports ahead of the August 1 deadline.

A high-level delegation led by Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin is scheduled to depart for Washington today for a final round of trade negotiations. The three-day meeting with the United States Trade Representative (USTR), beginning Tuesday, is aimed at securing a favourable duty structure for the country, whose exports to the US exceed $8 billion annually.

The other members of the delegation are Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman, National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman and an additional secretary of the commerce ministry. Some private sector entrepreneurs, including garment exporters, may also join the delegation, but they will not be inside the negotiation room.

The aircraft purchase plan is the centrepiece of a package offered by Dhaka to narrow a trade deficit, with US imports standing at $2 billion. But Biman Bangladesh Airlines said it has no clue about the developments.

In a significant move on July 20, Bangladesh signed an agreement with US Wheat Associates to purchase 700,000 tonnes of US wheat annually for the next five years. Bangladesh has also agreed to increase imports of LNG and cotton, and offered zero import duty on some US goods.

Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman confirmed the Boeing purchase plan. He said he was hopeful a tariff rate could be fixed between 15 percent and 20 percent for Bangladesh's exports. This would place Bangladesh on par with countries such as Japan (15 percent) and Vietnam (20 percent).

Reducing the trade gap and lessening over-reliance on Chinese products, especially industrial raw materials like fabrics for garment manufacturing, yarn, accessories, and machinery, are major conditions for Bangladesh in the negotiations.

After the second round of negotiations, held on July 9-11, the Trump administration asked Bangladesh to clearly state what kinds of trade benefits the country can offer the US and demanded zero duty for a series of products.

BIMAN'S RESPONSE

"Biman is not aware of the purchase of 25 aircraft from Boeing," ABM Raoshan Kabir, Biman's General Manager of Public Relations, told The Daily Star.

Top officials at Biman said they only learned about the potential purchase of 25 aircraft from Boeing through media reports.

"It's very surprising that Biman's top officials were not informed about the purchase of 25 Boeing aircraft," a top official of Biman told The Daily Star, wishing to remain anonymous. "Even our techno-financial committee is not aware of it. How is it possible to sign an agreement bypassing Biman?" the official questioned.

Biman's current fleet includes four Boeing 787-8s, two 787-9s, four 777-300ERs, and four 737-800s. It also operates five De Havilland Canada DHC-8s (Dash-8 Q400).

Biman is not aware of the purchase of 25 aircraft from Boeing.

— ABM Raoshan Kabir, Biman's general manager of public relations

Biman Managing Director and CEO Shafiqur Rahman recently told the media that they have received proposals from both Boeing and Airbus.

"Our techno-financial team is working on those proposals, and we will decide on buying the planes that will benefit us," he said.

Considering aircraft type and model, the price of a Boeing aircraft can range from $250 million to $300 million.

Aviation expert Kazi Wahidul Alam said, "Aircraft should be purchased based on Biman's fleet plan and market demand analysis. In the past, we have seen aircraft bought under external pressure without understanding Biman's real needs, which increased the financial burden."

"Biman needs aircraft at the moment. But they have spent the last three to four years just conducting assessments and are yet to make a decision," he said.

"One day they say Boeing, another day Airbus. They are wasting time. A decision must be made quickly, and the price must also be competitive."

In 2023, during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, the then Awami League government committed to buying 10 new A350 planes from Airbus.