The government must initiate direct negotitiations with the White House over the tariff deal without focusing only on negotiations with the US Department of Commerce and Trade representatives, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said today.

The new tariff rates threatened in the letters Trump shared Wednesday are similar to those he announced on what the White House dubbed “Liberation Day” in early April.

Sri Lanka would continue to engage with the US for a “mutually beneficial” outcome on tariffs, a top finance ministry official said on Thursday, after Washington imposed a 30 per cent tariff on all Sri Lankan imports to the country.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued a round of tariff letters to seven countries, including Algeria, Iraq, Libya, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.

Trump on April 2 proposed a 20% tariff for EU goods and then threatened to raise that to 50% after negotiations did not move as fast as he would have liked, only to return to the 10% baseline. The EU has 27 member states, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce yesterday described the proposed 30% tax on Sri Lankan imports to the US as opposed to 44% mooted earlier was a “significant step.” ..

President Trump is again amping up his trade threats, unveiling a new batch of letters to country leaders outlining tariffs on goods imported from their countries beginning in August. Trump on Wednesday posted to social media six letters,