New U.S. Tariffs Threaten Tens of Thousands of Garment Jobs Across Asia

[Date: September 2025] – Across Asia, new U.S. tariff measures are placing the garment and textile sectors under intense pressure, raising concerns over widespread unemployment and factory closures in some of the region’s biggest export hubs.

Key Impacts

• Bangladesh’s readymade garments sector—which employs about 4 million people and accounts for more than 80% of the country's export earnings—is bracing for job losses as the U.S. imposes a 35% tariff. Factories are already seeing orders drop. 

• In Cambodia, a 36% U.S. tariff on garment, footwear, and travel goods is looming. The sector employs over a million people, most of them women, and is a critical pillar of the formal economy. Experts warn of layoffs and even factory shutdowns. 

• India faces sharp challenges after being hit with a 50% U.S. tariff on many textile and apparel exports. Over 2 million jobs are at risk, particularly in areas reliant on exports to the U.S. Also, factories in states like Tamil Nadu are reporting slowdowns. 

• Factories in Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia are also seeing declining orders. Smaller garment suppliers are especially vulnerable—they may not have the financial buffer to absorb cost increases, tariff hits, or hungry buyers pulling back. 

Who’s Most Affected

• Women workers are disproportionately at risk. They make up about 70% of the garment workforce in many Asian countries. Loss of income in these households could have broad social consequences. 

• Smaller factories or subcontractors, which often have thin profit margins, are less able to absorb the financial shock, unlike larger manufacturers who might better negotiate or re-tool. 

Coping Strategies & Responses

• Some factories are trying to diversify markets beyond the U.S., pushing more into Europe or other regions to offset losses. 

• Governments and industry groups are calling for trade negotiations, reductions in tariff rates, or special exemptions to limit job losses. Bangladesh, for example, successfully negotiated its tariff rate down in some instances. 

Risks & Uncertainties

• Even with tariff relief, there are lag effects: contracts signed earlier under different expectations, costs already committed, and supply chains set up. Those do not adjust immediately.

• There is concern that factories might relocate to countries with lower tariff burdens or where raw material sourcing is cheaper, which would further heighten job insecurity in affected zones.