The country鈥檚 exports of readymade garments to the United States grew robustly by 19.83 per cent reaching $5.64 billion in the January-August period of 2025.
According to the latest data published by the US Office of Textiles and Apparel, Bangladeshi exporters exported RMG items worth $4.71 billion in the same period of 2024.
During the reporting period, Bangladesh outpaced almost all its major competitors in export growth to the US, its single-largest export destination.
However, exporters said that the OTEXA published the data of August, while reciprocal tariffs imposed by the US came into effect on August 7. This means that the data after tariff implementation has yet to be released. The country might see a downturn in the coming months due to tariff issues.
The exports to the US have already started facing a decline trend for the past two months, according to the Export Promotion Bureau data, which publishes about two months ahead of the Otexa data.聽
In the single month of August, the US imported RMG items worth $661 million from Bangladesh, a 7.5 per cent higher from that of $615 million in August of 2024, the OTEXA data stated.
In terms of volume, Bangladeshi RMG exports to the US also grew by 18.55 per cent to 1.8 billion square metres in the first eight months of 2025, up from 1.52 billion square metres exported in the same period of 2024.
As the third-largest supplier to the US, Bangladesh鈥檚 market share in the North American country stood at 10.22 per cent as of August 2025.
According to OTEXA data, the North American country imported apparel items worth $53 billion in January-August of 2025, a 3.33 per cent increase from $51.29 billion in聽the same period of 2024.
Amid the ongoing trade war between the US and China, Vietnam remained the top exporter for the past several months, surpassing China.
In January-August, Vietnam鈥檚 apparel exports grew by 15.73 per cent to $11 billion, surpassing the $9.55 billion recorded in the same period in 2024. Vietnam held a 20.35 per cent market share.
As the second-largest exporter, China again recorded negative growth of 21.07 per cent to $7.97 billion in January-August of 2025, down from $10.7 billion in the same period of 2024, and its market share dropped to 17.04 per cent.
Followed by Bangladesh, India secured the fourth position on the US market with a market share of 6.43 per cent.
The close competitor of Bangladesh exported RMG items worth $3.73 billion in January-August of 2025, registering a 16.09 per cent growth from $3.21 billion in the first eight months of 2024, according to OTEXA data.
RMG exports from Indonesia and Cambodia were $3.11 billion and $2.9 billion in the January-August of 2025, with market shares of 5.78 per cent and 5.51 per cent respectively, making them the fifth- and sixth-largest RMG suppliers to the US.
On July 31, the Trump administration revised the reciprocal tariff on Bangladeshi goods to 20 per cent, following a series of discussions, as the tariff was set at 35 per cent and 37 per cent earlier.
Moreover, trade disputes with China remained unsettled while the Trump administration imposed a total of 50 per cent tariff on India, aimed at penalising the country for its continued imports of Russian oil.
Bangladeshi manufacturers said that this shift had created some opportunities for Bangladesh鈥檚 RMG industry, as buyers might reconsider their sourcing strategies.
Talking to 抖阴精品, Mohiuddin Rubel, former director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said that US buyers had always trusted Bangladeshi products.
鈥楬owever, the data was on the August export, and the reciprocal tariff was also implemented on August 7, which would impact the export data mainly from September and onwards,鈥� he added.
He also said that global buying by US buyers and the trend of exports to markets had been in a downtrend.
鈥極ur export might face a decline from the coming months as US buying from its global suppliers has already started curbing,鈥� he added.
He said they had to focus on value-added products and resolve domestic issues to sustain in the US market.
鈥榃e should find diversified destinations and proper research, development, and innovation aligning the demands,鈥� he added.
According to OTEXA data, Bangladesh鈥檚 apparel exports to the US in 2024 were $7.34 billion, up from $7.29 billion in 2023.