Ruma Paul, Uditha Jayasinghe and Dhwani Pandya | April 3, 2025
DHAKA/COLOMBO/MUMBAI, April 3 (Reuters) - Bangladeshi garment exporter Shahidullah Azim woke up on Thursday to the shock of U.S. President Donald Trump slapping a 37% tariff on his country's exports, endangering an apparel hub already reeling from domestic political upheaval.
"We knew something was coming, but we never expected it to be this drastic ... This is terrible for our business and for thousands of workers," said Azim, whose clients include North American and European retailers.
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While India contributes only 6-7% of U.S. garment imports, far behind Bangladesh and Vietnam, the top 30 U.S. apparel brands indicated a shift in preference towards India from Bangladesh due to the latter's political crisis last year, a survey by the United States Fashion Industry Association showed.