Bangladesh: Brands suspend orders & seek price reductions with suppliers in response to US tariffs
"US order suspensions begin" 7 April 2025
The company "Accenture Footwear and Leather Products Ltd" in Savar, Dhaka, was preparing to ship leather bags worth USD 300,000 to the United States this week. However, on Sunday morning, representatives from the buyer company sent a message instructing them to halt the shipment.
...the Managing Director... KM Mushfiqur Rahman, told Prothom Alo...that the representatives of the buyer company will discuss President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs later this week. They are essentially asking for a price discount to offset the loss caused by the additional tariffs.
Rahman said that they export leather goods worth about 1 million US dollars every month, with 90 per cent of their total exports going to the United States.
Other export companies like Accenture Footwear and Leather Products Ltd have also received instructions from US buyers to temporarily suspend orders. Some buyers are requesting price reductions as well.
Several exporters from the garment and leather sectors told Prothom Alo that the number of orders being suspended or requests for price cuts from US buyers is still relatively low...The true extent of the situation will be clearer by the end of this week...
A US buyer company has suspended a three hundred thousand US dollar order with a Bangladesh-based buying house called Wikitex-BD. This company had already imported fabric to produce the goods for the order. Another order worth 150 thousand US dollars was also suspended.
...CEO of the company, AKM Saifur Rahman, told Prothom Alo, "My US buyer is saying that there is no possibility of raising the price from the end buyer. Therefore, they are asking us to reduce the price."
Leaders of the Bangladesh Garment Buying House Association (BGBA) mentioned that one buying house exports ready-made garments worth 1.2 million US dollars to a US buyer every month. These garments were being produced in a 17-line factory. After the reciprocal tariff imposition, the US buyer is asking for price reductions on the goods already shipped and has also suspended the June orders. They have said that shipments will not be required from July...