FILE PHOTO: A Walmart store is shown in Oceanside, California, U.S., May 15, 2025. Dhaka-based garment factory owner said an importer with whom he was negotiating a spring 2026 order of trousers for Walmart asked him to wait a week before the order would be confirmed due to the tariff risk. - Reuters
LONDON/NEW YORK: Suppliers to Walmart have delayed or put on hold some orders from garment manufacturers in Bangladesh, according to three factory owners and correspondence from a supplier seen by Reuters, as US President Donald Trump's threat of a 35 per cent tariff on the textile hub disrupts business.
Bangladesh is the third-largest exporter of apparel to the United States, and it relies on the garment sector for 80 per cent of its export earnings and ten per cent of its GDP. The factory owners all said they expected orders to fall if the August 1 tariffs go into effect, as they are unable to absorb that 35 per cent rate.
