Speakers at a breakfast meeting on Thursday urged Bangladesh’s readymade garment (RMG) sector to diversify from low- to high-value products to strengthen exports and prepare for post-LDC graduation challenges amid changing global trade dynamics.

The meeting, organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) on ‘Bangladesh’s RMG Sector: The Way Forward,’ highlighted energy shortages as a major constraint for growth, particularly for gas-dependent backward linkage industries.

Participants called for infrastructure expansion, policy coherence, automation, green manufacturing, and skill development.

High costs, tight liquidity, and weak risk governance were also raised as challenges, with speakers stressing the need for collaboration and actionable roadmaps to boost productivity and attract investment.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Mahmud Hasan Khan said that only two floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) are currently operational and criticised the previous government’s abrupt cancellation of 54 solar energy projects.

He also pointed to the weak state of mid- and low-tier factories, noting that fewer than 3,000 of BGMEA’s 7,100 members are still exporting, and said the association is taking measures to strengthen sector resilience.

Competition Commission chairman AHM Ahsan urged vertical diversification in the RMG sector to maintain global competitiveness, particularly in view of US tariff hikes and the upcoming LDC graduation.

Export Promotion Bureau vice chairman Md Anwar Hossain explained that policy reforms are underway, including a proposed bank-backed bond facility to support partial exporters, duty-free imports with bank guarantees, and the creation of a $100 Billion RMG Export Cell to coordinate on energy, banking, and tax issues, with the aim of achieving $100 billion in exports by the 2027–28 fiscal year.

AmCham president Syed Ershad Ahmed said that garments account for 81.5 per cent of Bangladesh’s exports and 11 per cent of GDP, with the EU and US taking over 57 per cent of shipments.

He warned that US tariff hikes could reduce GDP growth by 1–2 percentage points and stressed that proactive policies and diversification are necessary to mitigate trade risks and ensure resilience.

Bangladesh Investment Development Authority director general (Investment Ecosystem) Gazi AKM Fazlul Haque, National Board of Revenue first secretary (Customs: Export and Bond) Mohammad Naziur Rahman Miah, US Embassy commercial counsellor Paul Frost, and its labour attaché Leena Khan, among others, were attended the dialogue.