The government is going to request India again to withdraw countervailing duty on import of readymade garment products from Bangladesh in order to create level playing field for Bangladeshi apparel items and reduce trade imbalance between the two neighbouring countries,
commerce ministry officials said.The Bangladesh foreign ministry is likely to make the appeal to the finance ministry of India this week, they said.
At the 8th meeting of the joint working group on trade between the two countries held in New Delhi in June 13-14, Bangladesh requested the Indian commerce ministry for the second time to withdraw CVD on the import of RMG products as the duty is adversely affecting its exports to India.
At the joint secretary-level trade experts meeting, the Indian side advised the Bangladesh delegation to take up the issue with the diplomatic channel.
‘Following the advice, the commerce ministry has started its preparation including examining notifications issued by India on this issue and the international practices particularly rules of World Trade Organisation to make the request,’ a high commerce ministry official told New Age on Saturday.
He said that the request would be sent to the Indian finance ministry this week through the Bangladesh foreign ministry.
‘As India has exempted its domestic RMG manufactures from paying excise duty, CVD can not be continued on imports of RMG products as it was imposed in lieu of excise duty,’ he said.
Continuation of CVD will adversely affect the Bangladeshi RMG export to India and will also create uneven field as Indian manufacturers will not need to pay excise duty, he said.
This is also against the spirit of WTO’s national treatment rules, he said adding that Bangladesh sought national treatment for both Bangladeshi exporters and Indian manufacturers.
Another official who attended the meeting told New Age that the Indian commerce ministry had agreed with the Bangladesh’s arguments but informed that they have nothing to do with this issue as it falls under the finance ministry’s jurisdiction.
‘So, they advised us to move through the diplomatic channel,’ he said.
He said, ‘We hope that India would remove the existing CVD considering the friendly and historic relationship between the two countries.’
In March 2013, Indian parliament withdrew 12.36 per cent excise duty imposed on the local RMG manufacturers though the existing 12.36 per cent CVD on RMG imports into India remained intact.
CVD is imposed on imported goods that are being subsidised by the exporting countries. This helps to even the playing field between the domestic producers and the foreign producers receiving subsidies and bring the imported price to its true market price.
Commerce ministry officials said that the Indian move came when the RMG exporters in Bangladesh started to consider the neighbouring country as the next biggest export destination after the US and European Union following Delhi’s decision to provide duty-free and quota-free access to 46 RMG items of Bangladesh in its market in September 2011.
-With New Age input
