By Elishya Perera
DHAKA, Bangladesh (CWBN)_Bangladesh has requested India to reconsider certain restrictions on imports, which has impacted several key industries, including the apparel and agricultural sectors in Dhaka.
According to Bangladesh’s Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, a recent notification by the Ministry of Finance in India which denies preferential duty (under trade agreements) and authorises customs officials to request for documents for imports, in order to determine if the value addition criteria has been met, is severely impacting Bangladeshi exports.
“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,” the Minister said.
During his address at an India-Bangladesh Digital Conference on Agriculture Sector, on Tuesday (Dec 22), Munshi also requested India to reconsider its anti-dumping and anti-circumvention duties imposed on jute and jute cloth imports from Bangladesh, which has a significant impact on the Asian country which is largely dependent on the apparel industry.
Responding to these requests, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal said, with both countries having a significant share of apparel and textile exports, the government of India and Bangladesh should set a high benchmark on how to capture a larger global share in this industry.
“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,” Goyal said.
The Minister also noted that the agricultural sector could have a game-changing potential, and can pave the way to overcome the current economic challenges faced by 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.
