Impact of U.S. Tariff Policy on Bangladesh’s RMG Sector and the overall Economy: A Comparative Trade Analysis

The Bangladesh ready-made garment (RMG) sector is one of the pivotal industries in the country's export trade and is heavily reliant on access to key international markets, such as the USA. As a result, the competitive backdrop in which Bangladeshi apparel exporters function will be affected by the changes in the U.S. trade and tariff policy. This study compares Bangladesh's tariff landscape to the evolving U.S. tariff regime based on the case studies of ten export countries for garments: China, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Mexico, and Honduras.The study uses descriptive, qualitative, and comparative type of research, which is secondary data research. It relies on trade-weighted U.S. tariff estimates provided by the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Tariff Dashboard, which are based on import values for 2024, and looks at overall tariff exposure and manufacturing, agriculture, fuel and mining, and other goods. The analysis is explained by using Comparative Advantage Theory, the Heckscher–Ohlin model, Protectionism Theory, and New Trade Theory The result indicates that Bangladesh is a relatively highly tariff-exposed country among the selected countries. It has been reported that its overall trade-weighted tariff is 35.31%, which is second highest among G-7 countries, behind China's 37.97%. In manufacturing, Bangladesh has an estimated exposure of 25.37%, which is still higher than most of the selected competitors, with slightly higher estimates for China and Ethiopia. Also, there is a significantdifference in the sectoral analysis on product levels and Bangladesh does not have any observations for fuel and mining in the source data.In addition, the study makes clear that the UNCTAD trade-weighted estimates are not necessarily comparable to the 19% rate of mutual tariffs to be implemented under the U.S.-Bangladesh Agreement of the 17th of February, 2026, because they are two distinct measures and should not be confused with one another. In general, the results show that the competitiveness of Bangladesh's exports to the U.S. market is not only based on its current production advantage in labor-intensive apparel but also on the changing market-access conditions.The study thus emphasizes the need to strengthen the process of trade negotiation, export and market diversification, productivity enhancement, upgrading technology, compliance, and tariff monitoring. The findings of this descriptive study are broadly descriptive rather than directly causative of exports, employment, foreign exchange earnings, or economic growth, due to the nature of the study.