BM Desk : In January-April 2025, Bangladesh’s ready-made garment shipments to the United States, its top export destination, grew by 29.34% to $2.98 billion, despite continued concerns about tariffs. The US Office of Textiles and Apparel recently released data showing that during the same period in 2024, Bangladeshi exporters sent RMG goods valued at $2.3 billion. In terms of export growth rates, Bangladesh surpassed its main rivals in the first four months of 2025.

According to OTEXA data, the North American nation’s RMG imports from its international suppliers increased by 10.67% to $26.21 billion in January–April 2025, compared to $23.7 billion in the same period in 2024. In terms of volume, Bangladeshi RMG exports to the US increased by 28.31% to 979.27 million square meters during the same period, up from 763.22 million square meters during the same period in 2024. As the third-largest supplier to the US, Bangladesh’s market share in the North American nation was 9.80% as of April 2025, and amid the ongoing trade war between the US and China, Vietnam overtook China as the top exporter to

During the period from January to April, Vietnam continued to be the leading exporter of RMG to the US market. With a notable growth rate of 16.08 percent, the East Asian nation exported apparel valued at $5.09 billion, exceeding the $4.38 billion recorded in the same timeframe of 2024. Vietnam maintained a market share of 19.18 percent.

According to OTEXA data, China exported apparel worth $4.35 billion during this period, reflecting a 0.6 percent increase from $4.33 billion in the corresponding period of 2024, and held a market share of 20.23 percent.

Following Bangladesh, India ranked fourth in the US market by exporting RMG products valued at $2 billion from January to April 2025, achieving a growth rate of 20.30 percent compared to $1.66 billion in the same period of 2024, with a market share of 6.15 percent in the US.

Indonesia experienced a growth of 15.61 percent by exporting RMG goods worth $1.6 billion to the US during the specified period, surpassing the $1.13 billion recorded in the same timeframe of 2024.

US imports of RMG from Cambodia rose by 19.79 percent to $1.23 billion in January-April 2025, higher than the $1.02 billion noted in the same period of 2024, as per OTEXA data.

In the January-April 2025 period, Indonesia and Cambodia ranked fifth and sixth, respectively, with market shares of 5.46 percent and 4.90 percent.

Nevertheless, the RMG manufacturers in the country remain apprehensive about the US imposing a 37 percent tariff on all Bangladeshi exports, despite the suspension of this tariff for 90 days.

They expressed that the 90-day suspension is not a permanent or viable solution and urged the government to take prompt action through diplomatic means to address the issue before the 90-day period concludes.

To shield exporters from the US tariff, the nation needs to reduce its trade imbalance, according to Mohammad Hatem, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
Nonetheless, he claimed that the unusually high taxes on Chinese goods hastened the transfer of work orders to Bangladesh, which has affected US exports.
Despite changes in shipments throughout the year, Bangladesh’s garment exports to the US in 2024 increased by a meager 0.75 percent to $7.34 billion from $7.29 billion in 2023, according to OTEXA data.