India’s US tariff edge over Bangladesh disappears
Bangladesh’s US trade deal rattles India amid strained ties. Fresh off inking pacts with the US, Bangladesh lands a textile tariff win that’s got Indian exporters sweating, just as New Delhi-Dhaka relations hit a rough patch.
Deals in Spotlight
Imagine the timing: Days after India seals its own trade handshake with Washington, Bangladesh dives in on February 10, scoring zero reciprocal tariffs on select textiles and apparel—down from a 20% bite to 19%, with some goods entering duty-free. It’s a coup for Dhaka, the world’s No. 2 textile exporter after China, where factories hum and millions depend on garment lines. The joint US-Bangladesh statement spells it out: A mechanism for “to-be-specified volumes” of their apparel and textiles slips into the US market tariff-free, tied neatly to how much American cotton and man-made fibers Dhaka buys back. Feels like a savvy barter, but one that stings neighbors watching closely.
India’s Textile Jitters
Over in India, the mood’s grim. Shares of textile bigwigs tumble as the news sinks in—narrow margins mean every percentage point packs a punch. Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) Chairman Ashwin Chandran doesn’t mince words: This “opens a fresh challenge,” twofold. First, India’s facing an 18% US tariff while Bangladesh gets a mere 1% edge—halved from 2%, but still enough to erode competitiveness in a cutthroat game. Second, it could hammer India’s cotton yarn shipments to Bangladesh, a key market where mills rely on affordable inputs. “A matter of concern,” Chandran says, echoing the quiet panic in boardrooms from Surat to Tirupur, where workers eye uncertain paychecks.
Big Commitments, Bigger Questions
Bangladesh isn’t giving it away cheap. In exchange, Dhaka swings wide its doors: “Significant preferential market access” for US industrial and ag goods, pledging $3.5 billion on American wheat, soy, cotton, corn over time, plus a whopping $15 billion in energy products across 15 years. A Commerce Ministry official shrugs it off to the press: “Bangladesh opened wide to the US for a slight textile gain—India protected sectors they didn’t. See the whole picture.” Fair point, but it lands raw when ties with India have soured lately—think border spats, water rows, political whispers turning frosty.
Human Stakes Amid Trade Wars
This isn’t just ink on paper; it’s livelihoods on the line. Picture Indian weavers, generations-deep in the trade, now fretting over orders shifting to Dhaka’s faster looms. Bangladeshi tailors cheer the edge, dreaming of steadier shifts amid global slowdowns. New Delhi’s deal with the US suddenly feels overshadowed, like showing up to a party just as the next guest steals the spotlight. Strained India-Bangladesh bonds—once cozy under shared histories—add salt: Trade pacts now double as diplomatic jabs, testing SAARC dreams long faded.
Chandran’s warning hits home in a sector that’s India’s second-biggest job creator, employing millions from rural hearts to urban hubs. Will firms pivot to new markets, innovate fabrics, lobby harder? Or watch Bangladesh surge ahead, fueled by Uncle Sam’s cotton bales? The official’s “entirety” plea rings true—deals are webs, not solo wins—but try telling that to exporters staring at slumping stocks. As negotiations echo from DC to Dhaka, one senses the human grind: Ambition clashing with alliance, progress laced with peril. Fingers crossed for fair play, lest threadbare ties unravel more than just tariffs. In this neighborhood tussle, everyone’s weaving their fate, one deal at a time.