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DHAKA, KARACHI, AHMEDABAD: Bangladesh has negotiated a 20 percent tariff on exports to the US, down from the 37 percent initially proposed by US President Donald Trump, bringing relief to exporters in the world’s second-largest garment supplier.

The new rate is in line with those offered to other major apparel-exporting countries such as Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Pakistan and Indonesia. India, which failed to reach a comprehensive agreement with Washington, will face a steeper 25 percent tariff.

Trump put steep tariffs on exports from dozens of trading partners, including Canada, Brazil, India and Taiwan, ahead of a Friday trade deal deadline.

The outcome secured by Bangladesh — home to a $40 billion apparel export sector — reflects careful negotiation, said Khalilur Rahman, national security adviser and lead negotiator.

“Protecting our apparel industry was a top priority, but we also focused our purchase commitments on US agricultural products. This supports our food security goals and fosters goodwill with US farming states,” Rahman said. Muhammad Yunus, the head of the country’s interim government, called it a “decisive diplomatic victory.”

The readymade garments sector is the backbone of Bangladesh’s economy, accounting for more than 80 percent of total export earnings, employing about 4 million workers, and contributing about 10 percent to gross domestic product.

The prospect of higher US tariffs has rattled Bangladesh’s ready-made garments industry, which fears losing competitiveness in one of its largest markets.

“While the 20 percent tariff will cause some short-term pain, Bangladesh remains better positioned than many of its competitors,” said Mohiuddin Rubel, additional managing director at Denim Expert Ltd, which makes jeans and other items for brands including H&M.

Exporters in neighboring India said the relatively higher tariffs levied would hurt the country’s textile exports, as its competitors like Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia got lower tariffs.

“We are hoping that the tariffs will be rationalized. We will have to recalibrate our strategies depending on the final tariff imposed, said Chintan Thakker, chairman of industry body ASSOCHAM in the state of Gujarat, a major apparel exporter.

’Devil will be in the details’

Pakistan, which exported about $4.1 billion worth of apparel to the US in the 2024 fiscal year, secured a tariff rate of 19 percent, but industry figures were cautious about the immediate impact.

“Considering India’s lower production costs and the likelihood of it negotiating reduced tariffs in the near term, Pakistan is unlikely to either gain or lose a meaningful share in the apparel segment,” Musadaq Zulqarnain, founder and chair of Interloop Limited — a leading Pakistani exporter.

“If the current reciprocal tariff structure holds, significant investment is likely to flow into DR-CAFTA countries and Egypt,” he said, referring to a trade agreement between the US and a group of Caribbean and Central American countries.

Elsewhere in South Asia, Sri Lanka also secured a 20 percent tariff rate from the US, which accounted for 40 percent of its apparel exports of $4.8 billion last year.

“The devil will be in the details as there are questions over issues such as trans-shipment, but overall it’s mostly good,” Yohan Lawrence, secretary general of the Joint Apparel Associations Forum, a Sri Lankan industry body, told Reuters.

LUANDA: Angolan President Joao Lourenco praised security forces Friday for quelling unrest that claimed 30 lives over two days but rights groups accused them of killing “defenseless people.”

Dozens of shops and warehouses in Luanda were looted and vehicles attacked on Monday and Tuesday when a strike against a fuel price hike descended into some of the worst violence in the oil-rich country in years.

The unrest spread to several provinces and police said that by late Thursday they had confirmed 30 deaths, including of a police officer, with more than 270 people injured, among them 10 members of the defense and security forces.

The police did not say what caused the deaths but civil society groups and opposition parties blamed the security forces, who are regularly accused of using excessive force against demonstrators.

In his first public comment on the situation, Lourenco said “law enforcement acted within the framework of their obligations and therefore the order was promptly restored.”

“We send our thanks to the law enforcement, the justice authorities, the health professionals...,” he said.

More than 1,500 people were arrested, 118 businesses vandalized and 24 public buses attacked, according to police.

“We strongly condemn such criminal acts, we regret the loss of human lives...,” the president said, announcing the government would help looted businesses to replenish their stocks.

Lourenco, from the MPLA party in power since independence from Portugal in 1975, made no mention of the July 1 hike in heavily subsidised fuel prices that has led to a series of demonstrations in a country with a high level of poverty despite its vast oil wealth.

The state is “doing its best” to address Angola’s social problems, he said, citing investments in health, education, housing and job creation.

Opposition and civic groups also condemned the vandalism but accused security forces of using excessive force.

The looting reflects “the hunger and extreme poverty affecting the majority of Angolans,” said the Human Rights Monitoring Working Group of various NGOs late Thursday.

The “legitimate expressions of the population’s indignation should not be used as justification to kill defenseless people,” it said.

The platform urged Lourenco to order the security forces to “refrain from killing defenseless people” and create an independent commission to investigate the killings as well as compensation for the families of the victims.

Details of some of the people killed in the unrest have circulated on social media, with the case of Silvia Mubiala, a mother of six children allegedly shot and killed by police while trying to protect her son in Luanda, causing particular outrage.