Are Bangladeshi labourers genuinely subjected to forced labour? Are millions of readymade garment (RMG) workers victims of modern-day slavery, or is this a calculated maneuver in global trade politics?
The issue resurfaced following a recent proposal by the United States to impose fresh punitive tariffs on Bangladeshi products.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) stated that Bangladesh, along with 59 other nations, has failed to take adequate steps to eradicate forced labour.
However, a deeper look reveals that the narrative is highly complex, blending legitimate regulatory gaps with geopolitical strategies.
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), forced labour is defined as any work or service exacted from a person under the menace of any penalty, debt bondage, withholding of identity papers, or where the worker has not offered themselves voluntarily.
Low wages, long working hours, or poor operational conditions do not automatically constitute forced labour.
Under international law, the defining element is the restriction of a worker's freedom of choice and voluntary consent through coercion.
The RMG sector in Bangladesh employs roughly 4 million workers.
While international watchdogs continuously monitor the country's labour landscape, no major international agency has ever categorized Bangladesh’s apparel industry as systematically reliant on forced labour.
Labour rights specialists acknowledge that the domestic market faces persistent challenges, including low baseline wages and high overtime pressures, barriers to forming independent trade unions, workplace harassment and weak safety nets in the informal sector.
However, industry experts stress that these structural issues reflect a developing economy's labour market limitations rather than institutionalized coercion.
Mohammad Hatem, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), strongly rejected the US claims, pointing to a decade of compliance upgrades since the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster. Today, Bangladesh hosts the highest number of green-certified eco-friendly garment factories globally.
Despite significant upgrades in formal, export-oriented factories, independent researchers note that vulnerabilities remain concentrated in other segments, including informal sub-contracting apparel factories, the agricultural and construction sectors, and domestic informal employment.
Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), cautions against completely dismissing international concerns.
He notes that while "forced labour" is an inaccurate label for the entire sector, ongoing questions regarding freedom of association and shop-floor environment require continuous transparency and improvement to preserve global market access.
Geopolitical and trade angle
Why is the US pushing this narrative now? Many trade analysts view the move as part of a broader protective trade strategy.
Following judicial rulings in the US that invalidated several previous blanket tariffs imposed during the Trump administration, Washington is seeking fresh legal frameworks based on supply chain resilience, forced labour provisions, and market overcapacity to shield domestic industries.
Former BGMEA director Mohiuddin Rubel noted that because earlier tariff structures failed to hold up in court, new regulatory arguments are being put forward. Consequently, labour standards are increasingly being leveraged as strategic economic tools in international trade diplomacy.
The US remains Bangladesh's largest single export market, absorbing nearly one-fifth of its total outbound shipments.
Regardless of the merit of the forced labour allegations, the economic consequences of new tariffs would be highly tangible.
