Bangladesh asks India to reconsider anti-dumping duties on jute

Bangladesh has asked India to reconsider anti-dumping and anti-circumvention duties imposed on jute and jute cloth imports from the country and also said that New Delhi should inform before imposing an export ban or restrictions on essential commodities.

“The government has closed all government-owned jute mills. We (India and Bangladesh) have a long history of trade cooperation. Such detrimental measures dampened confidence of business and affected trade,” said Bangladesh Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi at an India-Bangladesh Digital Conference on Agriculture Sector, organised by CII on Tuesday.

Responding to the request for prior information on export restrictions on essential commodities, Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal assured his Bangladeshi counterpart that India was taking steps to address the issue by creation of adequate buffer stocks and increasing the area of cultivation of products such as onion and potatoes.

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Munshi said a recent notification by the Ministry of Finance in India authorising Customs officials to ask for documents for imports to determine whether value addition criteria had been met and denying preferential duty (under a trade pact) was creating problems. “Issuance of certificate of origin for preferential duty is guided by the ROO (rules of origin) of the agreement and the designated issuing authority of the export country issues it. The second check of origin is not consistent with the provisions of the agreement and has started affecting trade negatively,” he said.

Goyal suggested that both governments should set high benchmarks on how to capture a larger global share in textiles. “We both have apparel and textile exports together aggregating $67 billion. We should aspire to expand that five-fold so that we can provide jobs, increase earnings from international trade and support the development of economies of both countries,” he said.

Also read: India urges Bangladesh to import ethnic garments at zero duty

On agriculture, Goyal said it could have a game-changing potential for the two countries. “Bilateral cooperation in this sector can pave the way to overcome economic challenges. The agriculture sector has huge socio-economic dimensions. Being the prominent sector of the economy, bilateral cooperation in this sector can pave the way to overcome the current economic challenges our countries are facing,” he said.

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