Sri Lanka, Aug. 5 -- The United States (U.S.), in its tariff negotiations, requested Sri Lanka to grant duty-free access to American vehicles, including Electric Vehicles (EVs), in its bid to narrow the trade gap, a source familiar with trade talks said.

However, according to the same source, the Sri Lankan government did not grant outright approval, but agreed to consider such concerns in a phased out manner over a period of time. Sri Lanka and the U.S. will continue with the trade dialogue with the aim of getting tariffs reduced further.

During the latest round of talks, Sri Lanka managed to get tariffs reduced to 20 per cent from the originally proposed amount of 44 per cent. The current rate is considered competitive since it is on ...