India assures of reviewing of anti-dumping duty on jute goods

The Indian government on Monday assured of reviewing the anti-dumping duty on jute good imports from Bangladesh.

The assurance came at a bilateral secretary-level meeting held in the capital, where key discussion points included trade relations, non-tariff barriers and how to increase trade volume. 

Anup Wadhawan, the Indian commerce secretary, led his country's delegation, while his Bangladeshi counterpart, Md Jafar Uddin, led a delegation comprising of officials from the National Board of Revenue, relevant ministries, Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission, and the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB.)

"We elaborately discussed bilateral trade issues and non-tariff barriers to improving trade and commerce between our two countries," Uddin told Dhaka Tribune.

"In response to our call on removing anti-dumping duty on jute goods imports from Bangladesh, they assured us of reviewing the provision," he added.

In 2017, India imposed anti-dumping duty ranging from $19 to $351.72 per tonne on the import of jute products, including jute yarn, twine, hessian fabric and jute sacking bags from Bangladesh for five years. 

In the first eight months of the fiscal year, Bangladesh earned $75.5 million from the export of raw jute, jute yarn and twine, as well as jute sacks and bags.

Seeking anonymity, a source who was present at the meeting, told Dhaka Tribune that as part of their review, India has imposed conditions for reducing the subsidies on jute.

Giving his assurance about the review, Wadhawan said during the meeting that Bangladesh has to appeal for the review, the source added.

On Bangladesh's part, the delegation sought cooperation to sign a comprehensive economic partnership (CEPA).

India showed keen interest to come forward to sign the deal to improve trade relations.

"We talked about signing the CEPA as soon as possible, and they are very keen to strengthen it. We agreed to work together to strengthen and make the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation and South Asian Free Trade Area vibrant," Uddin added.

Meanwhile, the Indian government also raised questions about the value addition of edible oil exported from Bangladesh. They declined accepting certification of value addition.