Ranil pooh-poohs Govt.’s claim of successful tariff deal with US

By Yohan Perera  

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has questioned the government’s assertion that it has successfully influenced the United States to change its stance on reciprocal tariffs.   

Speaking on the matter, Wickremesinghe pointed out that the U.S. is still in the process of deliberating tariff policies with major global powers such as China.   

“How can the government claim success when the U.S. has not even completed its discussions with China and other major nations?” he asked. “It will naturally prioritize larger economies before turning its attention to smaller nations,” he said at a meeting in Kandy yesterday. 

Mr. Wickremesinghe has also urged the public to focus on the performance of the current government rather than discussing past leaders, including himself, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and Chandrika Kumaratunga.   He emphasized that attention should be directed toward evaluating what the present administration is saying and doing.   “Don’t talk about me, or about Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, or Chandrika Kumaratunga. The focus must be on what the present government is saying and doing,” he said.