US-China tariff war punishes Bangladesh

The Chronify

July 10, 2025

Smaller Asian nations, including Bangladesh, have been hit with some of the most punitive duties under the Trump administration's tariff policy. The official justification for these tariffs was to correct what the administration called unfair trade deficits, where countries export more to the United States than they import

However, analysts widely question the merit of using trade deficit calculations, suggesting the tariff move was a pretext for a broader geopolitical strategy to punish China. The US appears to have targeted countries that rely on or receive substantial investment from China.

Bangladesh is one of those nations that face pressure from Washington to decouple their manufacturing industries from Chinese suppliers, according to officials familiar with trade negotiations.

The threat forces Bangladesh into a near-impossible choice between its largest customer and its biggest supplier, pulling the nation directly into the fallout of the US-China trade war.

President Donald Trump has imposed a steep 35 percent tariff on Bangladeshi goods, primarily due to the high concentration of Chinese inputs in products manufactured here and exported to the United States, according to officials. The move reflects Washington's broader strategy to counter China's economic influence, they said.

In fiscal 2023-24, Bangladesh's imports from China amounted to $16.63 billion, representing 26.4 percent of its total import bill, according to Bangladesh Bank data. Over 80 percent of these imports consist of raw materials for the garment sector, including fabrics, chemicals and accessories.