Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia on 17 November 2025 for crimes against humanity tied to last year’s protest crackdown. She remains in India and rejects the case as politically driven. The UN human rights office has estimated up to 1,400 deaths in July–August 2024, mostly from gunfire by security forces, a figure that frames the political risk now facing the country’s factories and ports.

For UK business, this is not a distant story. Britain imported $4.17bn of goods from Bangladesh in 2024, of which roughly $3.9bn were knit and woven apparel, according to UN Comtrade data. The WTO still ranks Bangladesh as the world’s No. 2 apparel exporter. Any shock to production or logistics tends to show up quickly in prices, lead times and availability on UK shelves.

Short‑term operating risk is real. Garment factories temporarily closed during the unrest in August 2024 and re‑opened only after Hasina fled; and as recently as 30 June 2025 a strike froze Chittagong port operations. Global brands have already diverted some orders during bouts of instability, so buyers should assume episodic delays and plan buffers for the winter and spring seasons.

The pricing cushion for UK consumers is the government’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme. The UK says Bangladesh retains duty‑free access on 98% of lines, including garments, but it also makes clear that retention is linked to respect for human and labour rights. If London were to review preferences in light of rights findings, importers would face the UK Global Tariff on many clothing lines-a scenario worth modelling even if it is not the base case.

Sanctions exposure sits in the background. The United States sanctioned Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion and several officials in December 2021 for serious abuses under its Global Magnitsky regime. If allied governments expand targeted measures, UK companies would need tighter screening of suppliers, logistics partners and counterparties, and may face payment or insurance friction if entities are designated.

Compliance teams should refresh their Modern Slavery Act documentation. UK government guidance under section 54 expects large companies to publish detailed annual statements covering risk assessment, due diligence and remediation. Given the political backdrop, boards will want evidence that worker‑voice channels still operate and that wages and overtime are being met during any shutdowns.

Currency and payments deserve attention. Bangladesh shifted to a crawling‑peg regime in 2024–25 and the taka weakened sharply before stabilising around Tk119–120 per US dollar this summer, according to Bangladesh Bank data reported by The Daily Star. Dollar liquidity has been inconsistent too: a BIDS survey found 40% of garment firms faced LC delays in late 2024. In sterling‑priced contracts that mix can swing unit costs and disrupt raw‑material flows.

Order allocation remains the control knob. After the 2024 violence, some international brands cut or diverted Bangladesh orders while most kept core basics in place. For UK retailers, dual‑sourcing critical SKUs and holding two to four weeks of buffer stock is usually a cheaper hedge than an abrupt exit from a highly competitive base.

In the next 90 days, practical steps matter: reconfirm factory contingency plans, check alternate trucking routes into Chittagong and Mongla, line up a secondary forwarder, and pre‑agree supplier financing so wage payments are not interrupted if curfews return. Where possible, convert fixed FOB dates into rolling delivery windows to absorb week‑to‑week port volatility. We’re seeing finance and buying teams work more closely on these basics.

Politically, the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus says parliamentary elections are scheduled for February 2026, with a referendum on a reform charter expected the same day. That offers a planning horizon for UK buyers, but the period between now and then could be uneven if today’s verdict sparks further unrest.