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Committee to study impact of US tariffs on Sri Lanka

03 Apr, 2025

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed a committee to conduct an in-depth study on potential issues that may arise for Sri Lanka due to the new reciprocal tariff system introduced by US President Donald Trump and to submit recommendations to the government.

Accordingly, the committee includes the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, the Governor of the Central Bank, the Chairman of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board and the Director General of Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Additionally, Senior Economic Advisor to the President Duminda Hulugamuwa, Chief Economic Policy Advisor to the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Shiran Fernando, as well as Ashroff Omar, Sherad Amalean and Saif Jafferjee have also been appointed to the committee.

US President Donald Trump slapped Sri Lanka with a 44% tariff on imports as part of reciprocal tariffs imposed on dozens of nations.

The tariff imposed on Sri Lanka was among the highest on a list of countries mentioned by the US administration.

The 44 percent tariff was imposed on Sri Lanka for the 88 percent tariff it has imposed on products from the US.

Trump said that despite a commitment to the principle of reciprocity, the trading relationship between the United States and its trading partners has become highly unbalanced, particularly in recent years. (Colombo Gazette)

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