Bangladesh retained its position as the second-largest apparel supplier to the United States in the January-July period of 2026, staying narrowly ahead of China as Chinese shipments to the American market recorded the sharpest decline among the leading Asian suppliers.
Bangladesh had moved ahead of China in the cumulative January-February figures earlier this year, amid higher US tariffs on Chinese imports and shifts in sourcing by American buyers.
Bangladesh retained the No 2 position through July despite a 6.50 percent year-on-year decline in apparel shipments to $4.66 billion, according to the latest data from the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) under the US Department of Commerce.
In July alone, Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the US fell 10.73 percent year-on-year.
Overall US apparel imports declined 8.65 percent from a year earlier to $41.83 billion during January-July, pointing to weaker demand across the American apparel market.
China’s apparel shipments to the US plunged 34.21 percent to $4.55 billion, while India’s fell 25.77 percent to $2.45 billion and Pakistan’s declined 5.60 percent to $1.26 billion.
Vietnam’s shipments slipped 1.03 percent to $9.36 billion. In contrast, Indonesia’s exports rose 2.76 percent to $2.74 billion and Cambodia’s increased 10.48 percent to $2.62 billion.
Vietnam remained by far the largest apparel supplier to the US, followed by Bangladesh and China. The latest figures put Bangladesh only about $110 million ahead of China, indicating that competition for the No 2 position remains close.
The US is Bangladesh’s single-largest apparel export destination. Bangladesh and the US signed an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade in February, under which most Bangladeshi imports face a 19 percent reciprocal tariff, while the agreement also provides for a mechanism allowing specified volumes of certain Bangladeshi textile and apparel products to qualify for a zero reciprocal tariff rate linked to US textile inputs.
