Kazi Zahidul Hasan :
Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the US market continued to soar, reaping the benefit from the Sino-America trade war.
The country’s garment shipments to the US grew by 11.53 per cent to US$3.56 billion during January-July period of the current fiscal year while its garment export stood at $3.19 billion during the same period last year, according to the US Office of Textiles and Apparels (OTEXA).
Exporters attributed the rise to trade diversion caused by high tariff imposed on Chinese apparel items by the US authorities.
“Garment export from Bangladesh to the US is increasing as many US buyers appear to have shifted their orders to Bangladesh to avoid high tariff,” M Siddiqur Rahman, former president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), told The New Nation yesterday.
He said the rise has coincided with deterioration in the competitiveness of Chinese manufacturers following rise in labour costs in China, the global leader of apparel and textile export trade.
“The punitive tariff on Chinese apparel products has opened up opportunities for the Bangladesh readymade garment sector. It could play a major role in increasing our exports to the US market further by taking up share from China,’ said Siddiqur Rahman.
He also stressed the need for boosting industry productivity and product diversification to take advantage of emerging opportunities created by the trade war.
The Trump administration earlier imposed a 25 per cent tariff on nearly all Chinese exports to the United States.
So far, Washington has imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods to pressure Beijing into changing its policies on intellectual property, industrial subsidies, market access, and the forced transfers of technology to Chinese firms.
Beijing has consistently denied that it engages in unfair trade practices, and has retaliated with tariffs on a wide range of US products.
“With tariff increasingly cutting into profits, US fashion brands and retailers are moving from China
to Bangladesh causing a significant trade diversion, and thus helps increase our garments export to the US,” Abdus Salam Murshedy, MP, president of the Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) told The New Nation.
In fact, he said, the US buyers are placing additional orders to avoid higher tariff on import from China. A deepening trade dispute between the US and China may force more US companies to shift their sourcing from China to Bangladesh.
“We have to go for high-value products to cater the demands of the US buyers,” he added.
Bangladesh’s garment exports to the US grew by 14.49 per cent to $6.13 billion in the last fiscal year (2018-19), according to the data of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
The country is the second largest apparel exporter in the world, after China, accounting for 6.5 per cent share of the market.
Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the US market continued to soar, reaping the benefit from the Sino-America trade war.
The country’s garment shipments to the US grew by 11.53 per cent to US$3.56 billion during January-July period of the current fiscal year while its garment export stood at $3.19 billion during the same period last year, according to the US Office of Textiles and Apparels (OTEXA).
Exporters attributed the rise to trade diversion caused by high tariff imposed on Chinese apparel items by the US authorities.
“Garment export from Bangladesh to the US is increasing as many US buyers appear to have shifted their orders to Bangladesh to avoid high tariff,” M Siddiqur Rahman, former president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), told The New Nation yesterday.
He said the rise has coincided with deterioration in the competitiveness of Chinese manufacturers following rise in labour costs in China, the global leader of apparel and textile export trade.
“The punitive tariff on Chinese apparel products has opened up opportunities for the Bangladesh readymade garment sector. It could play a major role in increasing our exports to the US market further by taking up share from China,’ said Siddiqur Rahman.
He also stressed the need for boosting industry productivity and product diversification to take advantage of emerging opportunities created by the trade war.
The Trump administration earlier imposed a 25 per cent tariff on nearly all Chinese exports to the United States.
So far, Washington has imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods to pressure Beijing into changing its policies on intellectual property, industrial subsidies, market access, and the forced transfers of technology to Chinese firms.
Beijing has consistently denied that it engages in unfair trade practices, and has retaliated with tariffs on a wide range of US products.
“With tariff increasingly cutting into profits, US fashion brands and retailers are moving from China
to Bangladesh causing a significant trade diversion, and thus helps increase our garments export to the US,” Abdus Salam Murshedy, MP, president of the Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) told The New Nation.
In fact, he said, the US buyers are placing additional orders to avoid higher tariff on import from China. A deepening trade dispute between the US and China may force more US companies to shift their sourcing from China to Bangladesh.
“We have to go for high-value products to cater the demands of the US buyers,” he added.
Bangladesh’s garment exports to the US grew by 14.49 per cent to $6.13 billion in the last fiscal year (2018-19), according to the data of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
The country is the second largest apparel exporter in the world, after China, accounting for 6.5 per cent share of the market.
