The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake
Ravi Karunanayake sought clarification on potential US tariff increases affecting Sri Lankan apparel exports, noting reported moves to reshore women’s apparel production and an 18.1 percent rise in Sri Lanka’s April apparel exports to the US. He warned that selective tariff increases on trade-surplus countries could harm Sri Lanka as it recovers from bankruptcy, and urged the Government to negotiate a 10- to 15-year special tariff arrangement with the Trump Administration, citing the sector’s 1.2 million direct jobs.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, I need a couple of clarifications. Today, CNN reported that they are trying to bring back all women’s apparel production to the US. If we take apparel export data for April, exports from Sri Lanka to the US have increased by 18.1 percent over last year. You said this tariff would rise from April. If tariffs rise globally, that’s one matter. But if they selectively raise it only on countries with a trade surplus with the US, like Sri Lanka, that is where we get hit.
¶ 02 In my view, successive Governments have looked backwards rather than negotiating with foresight. At this crucial time when we are emerging from bankruptcy, why can we not negotiate a 10- to 15-year special tariff arrangement with President Trump’s Administration? Bangladesh has achieved similar accommodations. Please use every available channel to pursue this, because 1.2 million direct jobs are in our apparel sector, Hon. Speaker.
¶ 03 Therefore, I urge urgent action on this.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 18 March 2025 ·No. 1745915246032615 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 18 March 2025. No. 1745915246032615. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/8482