India may impose anti-dumping duty on the import of jute sacking cloths from Bangladesh after it received allegations of dumping of the goods in the Indian markets.

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies, the investigation arm of the Indian commerce ministry, on March 7 issued a disclosure statement of a probe, saying that the export of the item from Bangladesh eroded the effect of the anti-dumping duty imposed on jute bags earlier.

Currently, jute sacking bags don't face the anti-dumping duty the Indian government levied on the imports of jute and jute goods from Bangladesh and Nepal to protect domestic producers on January 5, 2017.

For Bangladesh, the duty ranges between $19 and $352 per tonne.

“We have not received the full documents from India yet in this connection. But we know it very well that India took this move earlier in 2018,” said Md Shafiqul Islam, additional secretary of the commerce ministry of Bangladesh.

“We had hoped that India will not bring the jute sacking cloths under the purview of the anti-dumping duty. But it is finally happening.” The Indian Jute Mills Association filed an application for the initiation of the anti-circumvention investigation concerning import of the product from Bangladesh, reported PTI.

Nearly 20 businessmen send sacking bags to India from Bangladesh.
Islam suggested the exporters to continue lobbying with their trading partners in India so that the Indian government changes its decision.

“Definitely, we, from the ministry, will negotiate with the Indian government in this regard. But such negotiation does not produce any positive result usually as the decision is taken after a long investigation and by a quasi-judicial body,” he said.

Officials of the Bangladesh Tariff Commission also attended the hearing of the anti-circumvention investigation, which found that Bangladeshi companies are dumping in the Indian jute sacking bags sector.

Abul Kasem Khan, a former president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says bringing the jute sacking bags under the purview of the anti-dumping duty would be very sad.

“The imposition of the anti-dumping duty on jute and jute goods by India was also illogical.”

India is the second-largest exporting nation for Bangladesh.

Every year, the country imports goods worth more than $6 billion from India through formal channels and it is believed that goods worth another $6 billion enter Bangladesh through informal channels.

“Compared to such huge amount of imports, the export of jute bags is very minimal,” Khan said, adding that India could have considered the case positively for Bangladesh.

He said the Bangladeshi ministries and trade associations concerned should sit together and continue discussion with India.