Colombo, Jul 21 (PTI) Sri Lanka is considering the purchase of crude oil from the US as part of its efforts to correct the trade imbalance with Washington, an official said on Monday.

The development comes ahead of the August 1 deadline for negotiations on tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump-led administration.

Head of the state fuel entity Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) Janaka Rajakaruna told reporters that the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil would be invited to participate in Sri Lanka's competitive tender bids to buy crude oil.

Sri Lanka currently buys its entire crude oil requirements from Middle Eastern sources.

“We are open for competitive bids to supply crude by WTI," Rajakaruna said.

He added that before an invitation is extended for the competitive bidding process, steps would be taken to obtain samples from WTI to test whether the crude could be refined in the CPC refinery.

Since April, with the imposition of 44 per cent tariffs by the US, Sri Lanka has been negotiating with the US Trade Representative’s Office.

The US brought the tariff down to 30 per cent in a letter sent by the Trump administration.

However, the island nation's export industry maintains that the move falls short, especially compared to the preferential treatment received by competitors like Vietnam.

Industry leaders emphasised the need for further negotiations, warning that high tariffs could lead to significant job losses and hamper Sri Lanka’s ongoing International Monetary Fund-supervised economic recovery. PTI CORR GRS GRS GRS

Trade tariffs prompt an island nation to invite foreign crude bids to correct a bilateral trade imbalance and pressure negotiations. An island nation will invite West Texas Intermediate crude into competitive tenders to correct a bilateral trade imbalance, contingent on sample-based testing for refinery compatibility; the move occurs amid tariff negotiations with a trading partner whose recent tariff reduction was deemed inadequate by exporters, who warn of job losses and risks to an IMF-supervised recovery.