The United States government has committed to supplying the Bangladesh Armed Forces with additional weaponry and equipment to reinforce its capacity to safeguard its sovereignty.

The British East India Company initially refused to accept the envoy, but an American consulate was eventually established for Fort William.

[9][10] American traders collected artwork, handicrafts, terracotta, sculptures, religious and literary texts, manuscripts, and military weapons from Dhaka and other places in Bengal, with many objects that can be found in the Peabody Essex Museum.

[11] In World War II, substantial American naval, air and army forces were stationed in eastern Bengal as part of the Burma Campaign.

During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, American diplomats, led by the consul general in Dacca, Archer Blood, sent a series of telegrams detailing atrocities committed by the Pakistani military against Bengali civilians.

[13] They dissented with the Nixon administration's policy of ignoring the genocide due to the close American alliance with the Pakistani military junta.

[16] Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, including Ted Kennedy, Frank Church,[17] and William B. Saxbe, denounced the Nixon White House for its silence on the "systematic oppression" in East Pakistan.

American cultural figures like the poet Allen Ginsberg[18] (who wrote September on Jessore Road) and the singer Joan Baez promoted awareness of the Bangladesh War.

After the liberation of Bangladesh in December 1971 and the withdrawal of Indian troops in March 1972, the United States formally recognized the newly independent country on 4 April 1972, and pledged US$300 million in aid.

[27] Relations between Bangladesh and the American-led Western world dramatically improved in the late 1970s, when President Ziaur Rahman reversed the socialist policies of the first post-independence government and restored free markets.

In 1983, military ruler Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad was invited to the White House for talks with President Ronald Reagan.

Bangladesh has been a key participant in the Obama administration's main international development initiatives, including food security, healthcare and the environment.

Since June 2021, the United States has shared 114,570,820 safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine doses with the people of Bangladesh – free of cost.

[35][36] After the Biden administration imposed visa sanctions on Bangladeshi officials for human rights and other reasons, it was severely criticized by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

[40] In June 2013, following the 2013 Savar building collapse that led to over 1,000 deaths, the United States suspended a preferential trade agreement with Bangladesh that allowed for duty-free access to the US market over poor safety standards.

The U.S. has also helped set up the elite SWADS marine unit in the Bangladesh Navy, which is modeled on American and South Korean special forces.

[47] The American Embassy in Bangladesh operates and supports several Education Consultancy Centers in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet and Rajshahi.