The United States has overtaken India to become Bangladesh’s second-largest trade partner. According to National Board of Revenue figures, total trade between Bangladesh and the United States reached 12.67 billion dollars in the last fiscal year, compared with 10.72 billion dollars with India. With that margin, the United States now sits in second place, while China, as always, retains the top spot.
The shift came as imports from the United States increased. Imports from the US rose by nearly 43 percent over the past year to reach 3.56 billion dollars. To manage the pressure of US tariff policy, Bangladesh adopted a strategy of importing more agricultural goods and energy from the United States, sharply increasing imports of wheat, soybeans, cotton and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The decision to purchase 14 aircraft from American manufacturer Boeing also played a major role in boosting this trade.
Trade between India and Bangladesh, meanwhile, has seen something of a slowdown. This followed a series of regulatory measures and counter-measures between the two countries over the past year. Bangladesh halted yarn imports from India through land ports, while India, in response, withdrew the special facility that had allowed Bangladesh to route its goods to other countries via Kolkata airport.
Overall, while trade between the two neighbouring countries has cooled somewhat, economic and trade ties between Dhaka and Washington have grown stronger.