BTMA likes the headline—zero duty for garments—yet worries the fine print could choke blends, recycled denim and allocation rules.
Bangladesh’s textile mills are trying to turn a bilateral trade clause into an industrial playbook. The Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) says Article 5.3 of the newly signed US–Bangladesh agreement could lift apparel competitiveness in America—if the mechanism is defined clearly and administered predictably.
zero tariffs, conditional on US inputs
In a letter dated February 18 to Dr Gary Adams of the US National Cotton Council, BTMA described the February 9 agreement as offering conditional zero reciprocal tariffs for certain textile and apparel exports to the US, linked to imports of US raw cotton and man-made fibre inputs.
BTMA represents 1,873 mills with $23bn+ in cumulative investment; it says US cotton was about 10% of Bangladesh’s cotton imports in 2025 and could rise 4–5x. It also notes Bangladesh’s cotton need could reach ~16m bales at full capacity, versus ~8m in current effective demand.
Traceability, blends and caps decide who wins
BTMA’s concern is operational: how will eligibility treat blended yarns, and what happens to recycled cotton in denim where provenance is hard to prove? It asks for a waiver for recycled components.
On a proposed cap, it suggests allowing tariff-free exports worth 5–6x the value of US cotton imports—roughly the cotton-to-FOB conversion in apparel.
A compliance race begins
BTMA proposes using the US Cotton Trust Protocol (with a transition period), says it is urging members to prioritise US cotton, and is preparing a bonded warehouse for American cotton ahead of a delegation visit to the US.
