The country’s readymade garment exports to the United States, the single largest export destination of Bangladesh, experienced a robust growth of 29.34 per cent to $2.98 billion in January-April of 2025, amid ongoing tariff fears.
According to the latest data published by the US Office of Textiles and Apparel, Bangladeshi exporters exported RMG items worth $2.3 billion in the corresponding period of 2024.
During the first four months of 2025, Bangladesh outpaced its major competitors in terms of export growth rates.
In January-April of 2025, the North American country’s RMG imports from its global suppliers also witnessed a positive growth of 10.67 per cent to $26.21 billion, compared with those of $23.7 billion in the same period of 2024.
In terms of volume, Bangladeshi RMG exports to the US from in the mentioned period also saw a positive growth of 28.31 per cent to 979.27 million square metres, up from 763.22 million square metres in the same period in 2024, according to OTEXA data.
As the third-largest supplier to the US, Bangladesh’s market share in the North American country stood at 9.80 per cent as of April 2025.
Amid the ongoing trade war between the US and China, Vietnam surpassed China as the top exporter to the US in March 2025, which it maintained in April.
In the January-April period, Vietnam remained the top RMG exporter to the US market. With a positive growth of 16.08 per cent, the East Asian country exported apparel items worth $5.09 billion, surpassing the $4.38 billion recorded in the same period of 2024.
Vietnam held a market share of 19.18 per cent.
The OTEXA data stated that China exported apparel items worth $4.35 billion in the reporting period, representing a 0.6 per cent increase from $4.33 billion in the same period of 2024, and claiming a market share of 20.23 per cent.
Followed by Bangladesh, India secured the fourth position in the US market by exporting RMG items worth $2 billion in January-April of 2025, registering a positive growth of 20.30 per cent compared with that of $1.66 billion in the same period of 2024, with a market share of 6.15 per cent in the US.
Indonesia posted a positive growth of 15.61 per cent by exporting RMG goods worth $1.6 billion to the US in the mentioned period, higher than that of $1.13 billion in the same period of 2024.
RMG imports by the US from Cambodia increased by 19.79 per cent to $1.23 billion in January-April of 2025, higher than those of $1.02 billion recorded in the same period of 2024, according to the OTEXA data.
In January-April of 2025, Indonesia and Cambodia held the fifth and sixth place, respectively, with a market share of 5.46 per cent and 4.90 per cent.
However, the country’s RMG manufacturers are still concerned about the US’ 37-per cent tariff imposition on all Bangladeshi exporting products, though it has been paused for 90 days.
They stated that the 90-day pause was not a permanent or sustainable solution and the government should take immediate action through diplomatic channels to resolve the issue before the 90-day period ends.
Mohammad Hatem, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said that the country must narrow trade imbalance to protect exporters from the US tariff.
However, he said, the abnormal imposition of tariffs on Chinese products accelerated the shifting of work orders to Bangladesh, which in turn impacted US exports.
According to the OTEXA data, Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the US in 2024 saw a marginal 0.75 per cent growth, reaching $7.34 billion compared with those of $7.29 billion in 2023, amid fluctuations in shipments throughout the year.
