News / Bangladesh exporters rush to beat tariff deadline for US-bound cargo

Chittagong port © Asmtamanna |

With just two days to go, Bangladeshi exporters are rushing to get goods off the docks in Chittagong ahead of new tariffs on US imports.

From Thursday, shippers will find their exports to the US subject to a total tariff rate of 36.5%, comprising a 16.5% rate and a 20% reciprocal rate.

Ruhul Amin Sikder, secretary general of the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA), said depots were receiving higher volumes ahead of the deadline.

He told The Loadstar that, with some 20% of Bangladesh’s exports destined for the US, exporters were working hard, “trying to meet the 7 August deadline to avoid new tariffs”.

He added: “We’re sending nearly 2,500 20ft containers to the port due to the sudden rush,” noting that this compares with the 2,000 the 19 inland container depots usually handle.

Unsurprisingly, the off docks in Chittagong, which handle nearly all outbound cargo from Bangladesh, are jam-packed with export boxes, being readied to be shipped as fast as possible.

Officials say these volumes are growing, with 18,303 teu of exports having piled up by Saturday, compared with the usual 8,000-10,000 teu.

Garment exporter Abul Kalam Azad told The Loadstar winter clothing typically began to be shipped to the US this month, but the looming tariffshave seen a “rush of boxes in the off docks compounded late last month”.

Certainly the numbers being recorded for Bangladesh’s merchandise exports are promising, reaching double-digit growth, of about 25%, in July, while Export Promotion Bureau data indicates a 24.9% uptick for last month’s exports by value, from $3.82bn last year to $4.77bn this year.

Manufacturers are “very encouraged” by these results, with port authorities noting that factories are getting goods in, which after being packed, are being “shipped quickly”.

The question remaining, though, is whether this momentum will continue after the tariffs take effect, or whether it will compound what has become something of a generally subdued trade environment.