A notification from House Leader Minister Bimal Rathnayake confirmed that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake summoned all opposition leaders to the meeting at the Presidential Secretariat.

“The discussion will focus on the impact of the unusual U.S. tariffs on our exports. This morning, 12 opposition party leaders requested to meet with the president to discuss the issue,” the report added.

The day before, it was known that the Sri Lankan head of state had sent a letter to his counterpart Donald Trump on ways to mitigate the impact and reduce the tariffs imposed on his country.

According to Deputy Economic Development Minister Anil Jayantha Fernando, Colombo is focused on reducing the 88 percent trade deficit with the United States in response to the new policy.

He added that clothing, food, and three other items account for 85 percent of total exports to the United States and are already subject to tariffs; however, he noted Trump’s recent levies were calculated based on the U.S. nation’s trade balance with the rest of the world.

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