When Donald Trump takes an axe to the global trade order, the reverberations are felt far beyond Washington.
His latest economic broadside—a sweeping reciprocal tariff regime—has now put Bangladesh squarely in the line of fire.
The imposition of a staggering 37% tariff on Bangladeshi exports to the United States is more than a mere recalibration; it is an economic shockwave with far-reaching consequences.
For a country whose garment industry serves as both economic lifeblood and employment mainstay, this is no trivial inconvenience.
US is one of Bangladesh’s most vital export destinations, absorbing 17–18% of its total outbound trade, with the textile sector forming the backbone of this exchange.
The new tariff regime—a threefold increase over the previous 15.62% duty—threatens to erode the price competitiveness of Bangladeshi goods overnight, putting at risk billions of dollars in export revenue and the livelihoods of millions employed in the sector.
A doctrine of disruption
Trump’s tariffs are not merely a policy tweak but an ideological crusade against the post-war multilateral trade system.
By jettisoning the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) principle—once a sacred tenet of global commerce—Washington is making a virtue of economic unpredictability.
The result? A chaotic trade landscape where nations are pitted against one another in an asymmetrical battle of duties and counter-duties.
Bangladesh finds itself ensnared in this geopolitical theatre, despite lacking the economic muscle or trade imbalances that typically provoke such punitive measures.
The rationale behind the so-called reciprocal tariff is tenuous at best, given that Bangladesh imported a mere $2.2 billion worth of American goods in 2024—a figure dwarfed by its $8.4 billion in exports to the US.
The widening trade deficit has been wielded as justification for this tariff escalation, yet the remedy—economic strong-arming—may well prove worse than the ailment.
While Bangladesh bears the brunt of this economic upheaval, it is hardly alone.
Vietnam, a fellow Asian textile powerhouse, is contending with an even steeper 46% tariff, while Cambodia, South Korea, India, and Taiwan all find themselves on the receiving end of Washington’s fiscal cudgel.
China, long the principal antagonist in Trump’s trade war, is facing a compounding tariff structure that could see its US-bound exports plummet by 90% within the decade.
The broader message is clear: Protectionism is back with a vengeance.
For American consumers, the consequences are paradoxical.
Major retailers such as H&M have already signalled their concerns, warning of inevitable price hikes that will ripple through supply chains and squeeze household budgets.
The very voters Trump aims to court with his economic nationalism may find themselves paying dearly for his tariff adventurism.
Bangladesh at a crossroads
With global trade in flux, Bangladesh must craft a response that extends beyond lamenting its misfortune.
Diversification of export markets, renegotiation of trade pacts, and deeper economic integration with Asian partners must take precedence.
The European Union—already a significant trade partner—could emerge as an even more crucial lifeline should the US market become prohibitively costly.
The spectre of this tariff war should also serve as a wake-up call for domestic industrial policy.
Bangladesh’s dependence on a single sector—garments—leaves it alarmingly vulnerable to external shocks.
Now, more than ever, investment in technological upgradation, value addition, and supply chain resilience is needed to ensure that the nation’s economic prospects do not hinge solely on the whims of foreign policymakers.
Trump’s trade doctrine—driven by the doctrine of "America First"—is a potent reminder that globalisation is no longer an inexorable force but a contested terrain.
As the world drifts towards greater trade fragmentation, Bangladesh faces a stark choice: Adapt or languish.
The 37% tariff is not just a number; it is a clarion call for economic reinvention in an age of uncertainty.
