The US takes about 40% of apparel exports, helping to pull in US$1.9 billion last year and making the industry Sri Lanka’s third largest earner of foreign exchange, employing 300,000 people, most of them women.

“If this is the end number, Sri Lanka is in trouble because our competitors, such as Vietnam, have received lower tariffs,” Yohan Lawrence, of the Joint Apparel Associations Forum (JAAF), representing the largest apparel companies, told Reuters.

“But we are hopeful we can continue discussions,” Lawrence said.

In a letter yesterday, Trump notified President Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the 30% tariff from Aug 1, a rate well above the 20% levy faced by competitor Vietnam.

The US tariff on neighbouring Bangladesh, another major South Asian garment exporter, was set at 35%, though the levy on India, also a big US supplier, has not yet been unveiled.

The Sri Lankan government did not immediately respond to a request for comment but called a news briefing later in the day, to be attended by central bank governor Nanadalal Weerasinghe as well as trade and finance officials.

Sri Lanka’s apparel exports to the US in the first five months of 2025 stood at US$747 million, while its total apparel exports last year were worth US$4.8 billion, JAAF data shows.

Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Sri Lanka’s economic outlook remains positive, despite significant risks to macroeconomic and social stability from global trade policy uncertainties.

When he initially unveiled his tariffs on April 2, Trump had threatened a levy of 44% on about US$3 billion of the Indian Ocean nation’s exports.