Latest news with #garmentindustry
South China Morning Post
21 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Millions of jobs at risk as 35% US tariff threatens Bangladesh's garment industry
A proposed 35 per cent US tariff on Bangladesh 's goods could devastate its garment industry and eliminate millions of jobs, observers say, as Dhaka scrambles to avert the looming trade blow. Experts warn the tariff could cripple Bangladesh's export competitiveness and fuel social unrest just as its interim government prepares for a crucial general election. While Dhaka has made efforts to secure concessions from Washington, analysts are sceptical it can avoid the tariff. Bangladesh's ready-made garments industry employs around 4 million people and is the backbone of its economy. It contributes to over 80 per cent of the country's total export earnings, according to data from the Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce & Industry in Dhaka. The US is one of the biggest markets for the industry. US President Donald Trump announced that starting on August 1, a 35 per cent tariff would be imposed on Bangladeshi imports – down from 37 per cent that he indicated in April but still more than double the previously proposed 15 per cent. The proposed levy could strip Bangladesh of its price advantage over regional trade rivals such as Vietnam, which faces a lower 20 per cent US tariff, according to analysts. 'If the US implements such a high tariff, then sections of our industry will shut down. Our exports will be in peril. We will be in distress,' said Abdul Wadut, whose firm, Winter Group, exports knitwear and jumpers globally.
CBC
5 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Come inside the century-old Montreal sewing supply shop that's now a pop-up exhibit
For 100 years the H. Fisher & Fils Montreal sewing supply shop operated on the city's storied St-Laurent Boulevard. Now the Museum of Jewish Montreal has reopened it as an exhibit paying tribute to the city's garment industry.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
After US tariffs, jobs hang by a thread in Bangladesh's garments sector
By Ruma Paul and Fatima johora ASHULIA, Bangladesh (Reuters) -The fear of job losses is rippling through Bangladesh's garment hubs as U.S. President Donald Trump's 35% tariff on the South Asian nation threatens orders from its main export market and crimps the country's biggest industry. The readymade garments sector accounts for more than 80% of Bangladesh's total export earnings, employing 4 million people and contributing roughly 10% to its annual GDP. Raimoni Bala, who operates an industrial sewing machine at a garments factory in Ashulia, a satellite town on the outskirts of Dhaka, says she fears losing her job every day. "For the past few months, everyone is talking about cuts," said Bala, 32. "Whenever anyone visits the factory, my chest aches. I feel like they've come to tell me I've lost my job." In a letter to Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, Trump said a 35% levy will be imposed on Bangladeshi imports from August 1 - slightly lower than the 37% tariff he announced in April but more than double the previous average of around 15%. Trump has said he will impose a 20% tariff on major apparel exporter Vietnam while levies on India and Sri Lanka - also big American suppliers - are yet to be announced. Lower tariffs for these competitor nations will make apparel from Bangladesh costlier in comparison. Bangladesh and the U.S. Trade Representative will kick off second round of negotiations on Wednesday to conclude a trade agreement, Dhaka said. While there was still time for Dhaka to reach a trade deal, the fear of disruption due to higher U.S. tariffs is pervasive on factory floors. Reuters spoke to more than a dozen workers in the garments industry like Bala. All shared the same fear - that under the weight of higher tariffs, cancelled orders and factory closures, their livelihoods were under threat. Suppliers in Bangladesh's garments industry, which counts Gap Inc and Vans parent VF Corp as clients, told Reuters that many brands have adopted a "wait-and-see" approach and are placing few new orders. "The burden of this tariff hike will fall heavily on garment manufacturers and the millions of workers they employ, a majority of whom are women, raising the risks of slower growth, job losses and a rise in poverty," said Selim Raihan, an economics professor at the University of Dhaka. Bala's story is similar to many of the workers in the teeming capital. She left her village in northern Bangladesh with the bare minimum, determined to give her sons - now 15 and 13 - a better future. Her husband's poor health only allows him to work sporadically as a day labourer, she said, making her job at the garments factory crucial to the family's survival. During the pandemic, Bala said her factory shut down. She said she continued to receive reduced wages under a government stimulus programme, but her family was forced to almost go hungry. Every rumour of new tariffs or reduced orders rekindles the fear of losing her job, she said. She said she clings to the hope that her job, though exhausting and low-paid, will keep her sons in school and provide food on the table. "I have confidence in my work. I work with respect," Bala said. "As long as I have this job, my sons can dream. Without it, I don't know what will happen to us." Sign in to access your portfolio
Arab News
08-07-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Bangladesh's garment industry eying GCC growth as exports to Saudi Arabia rise
DHAKA: Bangladesh's ready-made garment industry is seeing growing demand in Saudi Arabia, industry leaders say, as they look to the Kingdom as a key market for expansion in the Gulf region. The garment sector is a key driver of the Bangladeshi economy. The country is one of the largest garment exporters in the world, second only to China. The industry accounts for more than 80 percent of Bangladesh's total foreign sales revenue. The newest data from the Export Promotion Bureau shows that garment exports to Saudi Arabia were valued at $152 million in the fiscal year 2024–25, up by 7.3 percent year-on-year. The upward trend reflects growing interest from Saudi buyers in Bangladeshi apparel, particularly items such as T-shirts and jeans, according to Akhter Hossain Apurbo, vice president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association. 'We have strong potential for increasing exports to the GCC region, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE being the most significant markets,' he told Arab News. Major European brands with retail outlets in Saudi Arabia place orders with Bangladeshi producers who deliver products directly to Saudi ports. 'We export to wholesale buyers and later on retailers sell these goods across the region,' Apurbo said. 'Mostly Saudi locals are buying these Bangladeshi-made garments.' Garment exports to Saudi Arabia have been growing consistently over the past few years. In the 2022–23 fiscal year, they were valued at $130 million — a major increase from the $84 million recorded in 2020-21, when production was stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic. 'Saudi Arabia is a growing and potential market for our garment exporters as there is a captive market of about 3 million Bangladeshi migrants,' said Mohiuddin Rubel, former director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. 'Saudi citizens are also our target customers. Bangladesh makes world-class garment products and Saudis have good taste in clothing and they can afford it ... most of these buyers choose renowned European and American brands.' Rubel sees significant untapped potential for high-end garment products and local Bangladeshi brands to enter the Saudi market. 'We have to focus on increasing exports to Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries, aiming to reduce our dependency on the EU and US markets. It's the need of the hour,' he said. 'We need to focus on building our own brands (for the Middle Eastern market) besides producing clothes for internationally renowned brands. We have some competitive advantages as the goods will reach their destinations in a shorter time, with lower freight costs ... it will also help us increase product diversity.'
Free Malaysia Today
08-07-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Major garment producer Bangladesh seeks deal after 35% US tariff
Bangladesh exported US$8.36 billion to the US in 2024, while importing US$2.21 billion, reflecting a significant trade deficit. (EPA Images pic) DHAKA : Bangladesh, the world's second-biggest garment manufacturer, holds hope to reduce the 35% tariff that US President Donald Trump said he will impose, the country's top commerce official told AFP on Tuesday. Textile and garment production accounts for about 80% of exports in Bangladesh and the industry has been rebuilding after it was hit hard in a student-led revolution that toppled the government last year. 'There is a hope for getting a reduced rate of tariffs as USTR (Office of the United States Trade Representative) sent another draft document for review,' Commerce secretary Mahbubur Rahman told AFP. Rahman said the South Asia nation's national security adviser and commerce adviser were 'working on the issue' in the US. Bangladesh exported US$8.36 billion worth of goods to the US in 2024, while imports from there amounted to US$2.21 billion, according to the Bangladesh Bank and the National Board of Revenue. US clothing companies that source products from Bangladesh range from Fruit of the Loom to Levi Strauss to VF Corp – whose brands include Vans, Timberland and The North Face. Trump hit Bangladesh with 37% tariffs in an April 2 announcement, but in a letter issued Tuesday, the US leader said it would now be 35%. That is more than double the 16% already placed on cotton products. Dhaka has proposed to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump has used as justification for imposing painful levies. Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), called it 'a big challenge for the garment sector'. 'We had expected the tariff imposed on us to be between 10 to 20%,' he said, adding he expected Dhaka's interim leader Muhammad Yunus to 'raise the issue with the United States'. Former BGMEA director Mohiuddin Rubel warned the impact as tariffs stand would be dire. 'The new tariffs raise worries about job losses in Bangladesh as the US is its main export market,' he said. 'Bangladesh needs to act quickly by engaging US importers to push for policy changes, resuming high-level trade talks, and highlighting the importance of its products.'
