Distress is in store for Sri Lanka's garment sector if the island nation is unable to secure a tariff lower than 30 percent that US President Donald Trump has clamped on imports from Colombo, a top industry body warned on Thursday.
The US accounts for approximately 40 percent of Sri Lanka’s apparel exports and generated $1.9 billion last year. The industry is also Sri Lanka's third-largest earner of foreign exchange, employs 300,000 people, majority of whom are women.
"If this is the end number, Sri Lanka is in trouble because our competitors, such as Vietnam, have received lower tariffs," said Yohan Lawrence, of the Joint Apparel Associations Forum (JAAF), representing the largest apparel companies.
"But we are hopeful we can continue discussions."
In a letter, Trump notified President Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the 30 percent tariff effective from August 1st, a rate well above the 20 percent tariff applied on Sri Lanka’s competitor, Vietnam.
The US tariff on neighbouring Bangladesh, another major South Asian garment exporter, has stood at 35 percent, though the levy on India, also a big US supplier, has not yet been unveiled.
When he initially unveiled his tariffs on April 2, Trump had threatened a levy of 44 percent on about $3 billion of Sri Lanka.
