Refayet Ullah Mirdha

Bangladesh has outperformed competitor countries to attain the highest year-on-year growth in apparel shipments to the US market in January, as American retailers and brands are placing large volumes of work orders here to capitalise on the favourable tariff regime.

Bangladesh stands to benefit from enhanced trade ties with Pakistan as local traders are optimistic about getting more competitive prices and a broader range of raw material sources.

Mills and factories that were vandalised, ransacked or set ablaze during and after the July uprising have been struggling to reopen due to financial crises, unavailability of bank loans and their politically exposed owners facing legal consequences.

Bangladesh’s exports have shown resilience, displaying steady growth in key sectors such as garments, plastics and seafood in the first eight months of fiscal year (FY) 2024-25, somewhat defying global economic headwinds and domestic concerns like high inflation and political uncertainty.

The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) is going to hold a public hearing tomorrow on the proposed hike in gas prices for industrial use.

Talks on preferential trade deals with a dozen countries have stalled since the political changeover in August last year, potentially adding to the challenges related to Bangladesh’s graduation from the club of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in 2026, according to economists and business leaders.

The UK-headquartered thread manufacturer Coats Group has been expanding its operations in Bangladesh to meet the growing demand from local customers, according to a top official. 

Trade protectionism is not the path to global competitiveness

The country’s merchandise exports increased by 5.7 percent year-on-year in January, driven by higher shipments of Bangladesh’s key export item, readymade garments.

However, China will be the most affected under Trump since he said there would be an additional 10 percent duty for goods coming from the Asian giant.

Bangladesh imported more yarn in 2024 than in the previous year, with the lion’s share of the key raw material for readymade garments (RMG) coming from India.

Tens of thousands of workers and officials have lost their jobs over the last six months following the closure of dozens of mills and factories mainly because of the owners’ political affiliations.

Bangladesh is likely to face more hurdles in the race to grab a bigger share of the global apparel market as the Indian government plans to step up its financial assistance to garment exporters.

Bangladesh’s garment shipments to the USA, the South Asian country’s single largest export destination, have been falling over the past two years due to a market correction although other major countries have already adjusted to the scenario.

A state advisory council yesterday remained undecided on whether to sell 16 textile and garment factories of Beximco Group, citing that further scrutiny of bank statements was required.

The 40,000 laid-off workers and officials of the 16 textile and garment units of Beximco Group want the factories to remain operational so that they can be reinstated.

US President-elect Donald Trump’s trade policies towards China and Mexico could ultimately benefit Bangladesh, according to local apparel exporters.

Labour union leaders yesterday suggested that the government amend the labour law, easing the condition of a 20 percent workers’ participation threshold to only 20 workers to facilitate freedom of association.

The government is trying to find jobs for 40,000 laid-off workers of Beximco Group in factories within the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (Bepza) and the Bangladesh Export Zones Authority (Beza), a senior labour ministry official said.

Elections at major trade bodies have missed the 90-day deadline as new administrators of the business organisations seek amendments to the governing rules.