Managers of the Bangladesh clothing industry said on Thursday that the new tariffs announced by Donald Trump were a “severe blow” for the second largest clothing manufacturer in the world.
“Buyers will switch to other, more competitive markets – that will be a difficult blow for our industry,” commented Rakibul Alam Chowdhury, chairman of the RDM Group, a large manufacturer. “We will be buyers: Losing inside,” fears Chowdhury. The textile industry is a key sector in the South Asian country and stands for around 80 percent of its exports.
US President Donald Trump announced a drastic increase in tariffs to 37 percent for Bangladesh on Wednesday. So far, they have been 16 percent for cotton products and 32 percent for polyester products.
Bangladesh exports clothing worth $ 8.4 billion to the USA annually, as can be seen from data from the association of the clothing manufacturing and exporting companies Bangladeshs (BGMEA). This corresponds to about 20 percent of the total exports of ready -made clothing made in Bangladesh. “We were not prepared for this.” It suddenly happened, “admits Anwar Hossain, head of the BGMEA.
“We will be buyers: lose inside”
However, Hossain points out that the situation is worse for other competitors in the region. “Compared to our competitors such as China, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, we are still ahead because their prices are higher than ours,” he says.
A large part of Bangladesh’s exports to the United States are cotton substances, according to Chowdhury, who is also a former Vice President of BGMEA. Shafiqul Alam, press consultant of Mohammed Yunus, the head of the Bangladesh temporary government, said the government is currently looking for solutions. Bangladesh, the world’s largest clothing exporter after China, produces clothing for large global brands such as Carrefour (France), Tire (Canada), Uniqlo (Japan), H&M (Sweden) and Zara (Spain).
The country’s textile industry was taken last summer by weeks of protests that led to the escape of the former head of government Sheikh Hasina. In 2024, this key sector generated $ 36 billion (35 billion euros) compared to $ 38 billion in the previous year. This slight decline is due to the political unrest.
This article originally appeared on fashionunited.fr. It was translated using digital tool and then carefully edited.