By Manoj Kumar and Ruma Paul
NEW DELHI/DHAKA (Reuters) – India has withdrawn a transhipment facility for Bangladesh’s export cargoes to different nations through its land borders, in a recent blow to Dhaka which is already reeling from steep U.S. tariffs on its items.
The transfer is predicted to disrupt Bangladesh’s readymade garment exports and lift prices for commerce with nations together with Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar, exporters mentioned.
A round from India’s customs division issued on Tuesday mentioned it has determined to rescind a 2020 order permitting transhipment of Bangladeshi exports to 3rd nations by means of India’s land customs stations to ports and airports in containers or closed-body vans.
The ability has been withdrawn as a result of “delays and better prices” hindering India’s personal exports and creating backlogs, India’s exterior affairs ministry spokesperson mentioned.
“This can cease Bangladesh’s exports to Nepal and Bhutan,” Yunus Hossain, a Dhaka-based dealer, mentioned.
In relation to readymade clothes, Bangladesh’s largest export, Bangladesh has all the time prioritised direct transport, “so the impression will hopefully not be extreme. But it surely does hamper an intra-regional potential,” mentioned Rubana Huq, former president of the Bangladesh Garment Producers and Exporters Affiliation.
The change comes because the U.S. implements 37% reciprocal tariffs on Bangladeshi exports and is more likely to enhance logistical burdens, additional straining Dhaka’s export competitiveness, mentioned Selim Raihan, an economics professor on the College of Dhaka.
India is one in every of Bangladesh’s prime buying and selling companions, and the transfer is “inconsistent with the long run prospects of an enhanced bilateral relationship,” Raihan mentioned.
Commerce ties between the neighbours, which share a 4,000 km (2,500 mile) border, have cooled since Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the nation amid mass protests final August and sought shelter in India.
Bangladesh’s commerce ministry didn’t reply to requests for remark.
Ajay Srivastava, founding father of the International Commerce Analysis Initiative, mentioned the choice could violate World Commerce Organisation guidelines, which assure landlocked nations freedom of transit.
(Reporting by Manoj Kumar and Shivam Patel in NEW DELHI and Ruma Paul in DHAKA; Modifying by YP Rajesh)
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