1.⁠ ⁠External Contradiction: Dependency vs. Resistance

The US is Bangladesh’s largest export destination, with about 85% of garment products exported to the US and Europe. Leveraging this reality, the US exerts diplomatic and trade pressure on Bangladesh. In July 2025, the US imposed a 35% retaliatory tariff, effectively “punishing” Bangladesh. At the same time, Bangladesh decided to import wheat from the US. Under an annual memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Bangladesh and the US, Bangladesh plans to import about 700,000 tons of wheat annually for five years. While this agreement is presented as a food security measure, it is also seen as a diplomatic transaction to mitigate US tariff pressure.

This contradiction is clear: the need to resist imperialist states, yet dependence on those very states for livelihood and food security. This indicates Bangladesh’s semi-colonial position, where independent policy-making is nearly impossible.

In Marxist economics, this reality is termed neo-colonial food dependency, where developing countries become entirely dependent on foreign powers for their agriculture, food, and labor markets, falling prey to commercial pressures and influence. While the import project is ostensibly to ensure food security, it may in fact undermine local farmers and production systems, threatening the country’s self-reliance and sovereignty in the long run.

 2.⁠ ⁠Internal Contradiction: Farmer Production vs. Market Logic

Bangladesh produces wheat and rice in its agricultural sector, but production is less than demand. For the fiscal year 2025-26, the government plans to import about 1.5 million tons of wheat and rice combined, of which 700,000 tons of wheat imports from the US have been agreed upon. This import is likely to reduce local farmers’ fair prices and discourage production, with potentially negative effects on the country’s agro-economy.

Meanwhile, the garment sector faces a crisis. With order cancellations by companies like Walmart and Levi’s, exports worth about $4 billion are at risk. Around 4 million workers, over half of whom are women, face job losses. These workers mostly come from rural agricultural families, who now face hardship in both agriculture and industry.

This dialectical reality shows a lack of coordination between state agricultural policy and industrial policy, harming one class while endangering another. The livelihoods of both farmers and workers are in jeopardy, leading to social deterioration.

 3.⁠ ⁠Trade Contradiction: Free Market vs. Economic Sovereignty

Bangladesh has long adopted a ‘free market’ policy, but the reality is that the market is never truly free. When imperialist states like the US choose, they impose tariffs. Bangladesh lacks the diplomatic or economic power to resist such tariffs.

Despite warnings of a $3.3 billion loss in garment exports, the government insists on increased imports. This exposes a discriminatory global trade system under the guise of free markets, where developing countries are treated merely as suppliers of labor and raw materials.

Imperialist states and multinational corporations dominate the global capitalist economy. Bangladesh’s economy and markets are shaped under this pressure, posing grave threats to the country’s sovereignty and economic independence.

 4.⁠ ⁠Diplomatic Contradiction: Protecting Interests vs. Self-Surrender

The Bangladesh government has promised to import cotton, poultry, and wheat from the US to please Washington, hoping for the reinstatement of the GSP (Generalized System of Preferences) or special trade benefits. This is not a diplomatic relationship but a modern form of neo-colonial dependency. Such agreements disconnect Bangladesh’s foreign policy from the interests of its people, reducing it to appeasing development partner states.

Description of Military and Commercial Agreements

Bangladesh-US relations extend beyond food and trade; military and commercial agreements have a significant impact on Bangladesh’s sovereignty and policymaking. Notable among these are:

TICFA (Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement): This commercial framework ensures American capital dominance in Bangladesh’s markets. Through TICFA, multinationals extend control over agriculture and industry, undermining local production and employment.

USAID and Feed the Future Projects: Ostensibly development aid, these projects push farmers towards corporate capitalist agriculture, eroding food self-reliance and increasing import dependency.

ACSA (Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement): This military cooperation agreement grants the US access and control over Bangladesh’s military infrastructure, posing risks to national security and sovereignty.

GSOMIA (General Security of Military Information Agreement): Through this pact, military information and confidentiality are shared, reducing Bangladesh’s military independence.

Digital Surveillance Agreements:Agreements on information technology and digital surveillance with the US jeopardize information sovereignty and civil liberties.

Through these multifaceted military and commercial agreements, Bangladesh is drawn into a sphere of influence that restricts its policymaking and autonomy.

 5.⁠ ⁠The Web of Agreements and Real Impact

The US has long pursued policies applying various pressures on Bangladesh. On one hand, it raises human rights concerns against Bangladesh’s garment sector; on the other, American multinationals demand unrestricted access to Bangladesh’s markets. This double standard reveals the global capitalist imperialist logic.

The wheat import agreement and retaliatory tariffs reveal the US’s political aims. While tariff relief is attempted through food imports, in the long run, this weakens Bangladesh’s agriculture and economy. Neglect of local farmers’ interests and growing import dependence deepen neo-colonial chains.

 Conclusion

The recent US-oriented food import policies of Bangladesh clearly show how a state’s economic and political sovereignty erodes when its leadership is forced to comply with global capitalist system conditions. To resolve this situation, it is necessary to build **food self-reliance from the grassroots, protect local farmers and producers, and develop a leftist alternative economy grounded in national interest, labor rights, and anti-imperialist struggle.

“Our own land, our own food, our own foreign policy — this must be the pledge of future Bangladesh.”

Badrul Alam
President
Bangladesh Krishok Federation
21 July 2025
Dhaka