Revised US tariff on Bangladeshi goods to take effect 7 days after Trump's executive order
Goods in transit before 7 Aug, those that enter US by 5 Oct will be exempted
The United States' announcement of a 20% reciprocal tariff on goods imported from Bangladesh will come into effect at 12:01am (eastern daylight time) – Bangladesh time 10:01am, seven days after the signing of the executive order by US President Donald Trump, excluding the day the order is signed.
According to a notice from the White House, the revised tariff will be applicable to goods that "entered for consumption, or [were] withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01am eastern daylight time 7 days after the date of the executive order, excluding the day the executive order is signed."
For shipments that are already en route, goods loaded onto a vessel at the port of loading and are in transit on their final mode of transport before 12:01am EDT on 7 August 2025 – and that entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse before 12:01am EDT on 5 October 2025 – will not be subject to the new tariff rate, it added.
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The White House confirmed the decision last night (31 July, Washington DC time), reducing the previously declared 35% tariff rate by 15 percentage points.
The move comes after weeks of negotiations between Bangladeshi and US officials aimed at revising the counter-tariff imposed under an earlier directive.
On 2 April, US President Donald Trump announced higher tariffs on several countries, citing trade deficit concerns. At that time, Bangladesh was subject to a 37% tariff.
Later, on 9 April, Washington suspended the tariffs for three months, giving countries an opportunity to negotiate with the US on the matter.
The three-month deadline ended on 9 July.
The day before, President Trump wrote to Bangladesh's interim government chief adviser, Prof Muhammad Yunus, informing him that the tariff for Bangladesh had been reduced to 35% from 37%. However, the tariffs were not enforced immediately after 9 July.
Countries were given until 31 July to reach trade agreements with the US to lower the tariff rates.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and Bangladesh Bank, the US is the largest market for Bangladesh's RMG exports, totalling $8 billion annually. In contrast, Bangladesh imports about $2 billion worth of goods from the US.
