DHAKA: As punishing US tariffs boost concerns for its crucial garment sector, Bangladesh announced on Sunday that it had granted a license to digital billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service.
A government-backed purchase mountain that kicks off in Dhaka on Monday will unveil the Starlink service.
Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud, the head of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, told reporters on Sunday,” We granted them approval.”
Mahmud claimed it was given on March 28 a day before US President Donald Trump unveiled his extensive tax plan that had stifled international markets.
The new tax on Bangladeshi goods was set at 37 percent, increasing responsibilities from the past 16 percent on cloth.
Elon Musk’s meetings with foreign leaders and his very obvious White House part as Trump’s right-hand man have sparked concerns about the fading of his official responsibilities with his business interests.
The interim government in Dhaka, which overcame the hardline former state in August 2024, is requesting US political support.
The effects of the tariffs on the second-largest garment producer in the world, according to time leader Muhammad Yunus, was discussed at an urgent conference on Saturday.
Trump will receive a letter from Nobel Prize winner Yunus about the taxes, his media minister announced on Sunday.
In February, Musk and Yunus spoke about bringing Starlink, a low Earth orbit satellite that provides digital access to rural areas, to Bangladesh.
They also stated that the service would open up new opportunities for” Bangladesh’s enterprising youth, rural and vulnerable women, and remote communities,” according to a statement from Yunus ‘ media office at the time.
About 80 % of South Asia’s imports are made in textiles and clothing.
According to statistics from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the country’s trade association, Bangladesh exports$ 8.4 billion of clothing each year to the United States.
That accounts for about 20 % of Bangladesh’s full ready-made garment imports.
