India raises concern over BD trade protection

India has expressed concern over a set of measures Bangladesh took in the current budget to protect domestic industries, which are in turn 'affecting' their business in Bangladesh, officials said on Thursday.
Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Dhaka Dr Adarsh Swaika raised the concern at a meeting with Senior Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon at his office on Wednesday.
Mr Swaika met the secretary to confirm the schedule for the Bangladesh-India commerce secretary-level meeting that will be held in New Delhi on November 16.
Mr Swaika also handed over a list of barriers that the Indian businesses are facing in Bangladesh, and sought cooperation to remove the problems, sources said.
In the 2016-17 budget, 20 per cent regulatory duty and 15 per cent value added tax (VAT) were imposed on import of steel billet to protect the domestic industry.
The product is subject to be duty-free under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement. The Indian diplomat requested the commerce secretary to allow duty-free import of the item in Bangladesh in line with the agreement, they also said.
He requested reducing increased import duty on products like raw sugar, bi-cycle, rapeseed, soya cake, and fruits, including orange. The duties increased in the budget were stated to be tariff barriers to trade.
Mr Swaika expressed concern over keeping the dairy and milk products in the SAFTA sensitive list of Bangladeshi products, as the step is hindering entry of the products from India to Bangladesh.
He also pointed out that the product-specific land customs stations (LCs) create a non-tariff barrier in trading activities.
India also follows the same policy, and many of the Bangladeshi goods have been restricted while entering the Indian territories through LCs, not specified for the particular products, a senior commerce ministry official told the FE.
The Indian diplomat also had talks about fixing minimum import price of some products by the National Board of Revenue (NBR), which is higher in India than China and Thailand.
He also talked about non-renewal of agreement on Indo-Bangla 'border haat', which expired months back.
However, another senior official said Bangladesh has taken the tax measures to protect the interest of domestic industry, as demanded by the local businesses.
"Our domestic industry needs such protection to remain competitive," he added.
When contacted, Mr Mamoon only said the diplomat met him to fix a date for the commerce secretary-level meeting.
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