Staff Reporter :
China, long the dominant supplier of apparel to the United States, is rapidly losing ground as steep tariffs erode its competitiveness—opening the door for Bangladesh and other Asian exporters to expand their foothold, according to a new report.
Drawing on data from the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA), compiled by the Bangladesh Apparel Exchange, the report highlights that US apparel imports rose 3.32percent year-on-year to $53 billion in the first eight months of 2025 (January–August).
During this period, US imports from China dropped by more than 25percent, while shipments from Vietnam grew 15.69percent, Bangladesh surged 19.82percent, and India and Indonesia each recorded nearly 16percent growth. Chinese apparel unit prices in the US market also fell sharply—by over 8percent.
Vietnam remains the largest apparel supplier to the US with exports exceeding $11 billion, followed by China, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Mexico, Pakistan and Honduras.
The report notes that tariff developments played a major role. After the Trump administration introduced new tariffs in April, an initial 10percent duty was applied to all supplier countries.
Following negotiations, final tariff rates announced in early August ranged from 15percent to 20percent for most major exporters. However, China and India faced significantly higher reciprocal tariffs compared to others.
This impact became more visible in August, when the reciprocal tariff took effect: overall US apparel imports fell by over 6percent year-on-year, while imports from China plummeted by nearly 46percent.
In contrast, imports from Vietnam increased 8.76percent, from Bangladesh 7.50percent, from India 16.08percent, from Indonesia 11.16percent, and from Cambodia an impressive 49percent.
Mohiddin Rubel, managing director of the Bangladesh Apparel Exchange and former BGMEA director, told the media that the data does not yet show the full consequences of the tariff shift, as it covers only up to August.
“We need another four to five months of US import data to understand the real impact,” he said.
From January to August, Bangladesh’s apparel unit price in the US market rose 1.08percent, Vietnam’s increased 0.64percent, and India’s 1.29percent, whereas Cambodia, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Mexico saw notable declines in their unit prices.
Mostafa Abid Khan, former member of the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission, echoed the view that a clearer picture will emerge by December. He expressed optimism that US apparel imports could begin to rebound from January next year.
