Bangladesh recently requested India to reconsider anti-dumping and anti-circumvention duties imposed on jute and jute cloth imports from the country, saying New Delhi should inform before imposing an export ban or restrictions on essential commodities. “Such detrimental measures dampened confidence of business and affected trade,” said Bangladesh commerce minister Tipu Munshi.
Bangladesh has closed all government-owned jute mills, Munshi told an India-Bangladesh Digital Conference on Agriculture Sector organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry recently.
Indian commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal assured Munshi that India is taking steps to address the issue by creating adequate buffer stocks and increasing the area of cultivation of certain agricultural produce.
A recent notification by the Indian finance ministry 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, Munshi said.
“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 added.
