By Priyotee Ferlin

Bangladesh is preparing lodge complain against India as New Delhi persistently refusing Dhaka’s plea of removal anti dumping duty on jute sacks and other products.

“After reviewing overall developments we asked our WTO cell to examine weather it is wise for us going dispute settlement procedure in the World Trade Organisation (WTO),” a high official of the Commerce Ministry told Business Mirror Thursday.

India is currently expanding use natural fiber instead of plastic sack applying policy of expanding its own production capacity, a high official of the Bangladesh Trade Commission said. “They would continue impose duty as well as other non tariff barriers on jute goods,” he added.

Based on complaint of Indian company, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies, (erstwhile DGAD) had initiated a probe into imports of the products in 2015.

West Bengal is the major player in the jute industry, with 3.5 to 4 lakh people being employed in the sector.

Earlier  tariff commission officials in a meeting last week has examine the pros and con of possible implications if Dhaka goes for WTO dispute resolution.

India refuges lifting  anti-dumping duty on Bangladeshi jute goods in April, December 2019 and January this year following Bangladesh’s plea to withdraw the anti-dumping duty on jute goods, hydrogen peroxide and fishing net in different communications and at the bilateral commerce secretary level meeting held in New Delhi in mid-January this year.

Earlier in November 2019 India has widened antidumping duty imposed on jute yarn and sacking bags by including more companies of Bangladesh to protect (Indian) domestic players from that they said “cheap inbound shipments,”.

In a notification, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has said it has amended a notification dated January 1, 2017 to include more companies under the ambit of antidumping duties. The duties are in the range of $97.19 per tonne and $125.21 per tonne.

It was in 2017, when it was first imposed on imports of jute yarn and sacking bags coming from Bangladesh to guard domestic players from cheap imports.

The anti-dumping duty is imposed on specific companies of a country.

Later in 2018, India also put anti-dumping duty, $2.69 per kilogram, on fishing net exported from Bangladesh to its domestic market.

Countries carry out anti-dumping probe to determine whether their domestic industries have been hurt because of a surge in cheap imports.

As a counter measure, they impose duties under the multilateral regime of the World Trade Organization.

The duty is aimed at ensuring fair trade practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic producers with regard to foreign producers and exporters.

The Indian Jute Mills Association had filed an application for initiation of anti-circumvention investigation concerning import