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The Trump administration has imposed a 20 percent tariff on Vietnamese products, another key rival of Bangladesh in the global garment market. In Vietnam’s case, the rate could rise to 40 percent if goods are shipped to the US through re-routing or transhipment.

Ahead of the tariff decision, Bangladesh committed to importing more US goods, including aircraft, wheat and soybean products, in an effort to reduce the trade gap between the two countries.

Currently, Bangladesh exports goods worth more than $8 billion to the US each year, while importing about $2 billion, leaving a trade gap of $6 billion.

The US is the single largest export destination for Bangladesh, and more than 90 percent of its exports to the American market are garments.

Bangladesh is the third-largest garment exporter to the US, after China and Vietnam, with a 9.3 percent share of the $81 billion American apparel import.