New Delhi: The Indian government has imposed fresh land port restrictions on imports from Bangladesh. As per fresh order, the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has notified immediate ban on the import of certain goods such as bleached and unbleached woven fabrics of jute or of other textile bast fibre, twine, cordage, rope of jute, sacks and bags of jute from any land port on the India-Bangladesh border.These import items, however, can enter India through the Nhava Sheva seaport in Maharashtra. The move is also to restrict import of all these goods which are also produced substantially in India. The latest ban is to prevent circumvention of the previous ban order of June 27 prohibiting jute products and woven fabrics from Bangladesh from land routes. Bangladesh media said at present just one per cent of exports from Bangladesh enter India through the sea route and the fresh restriction, therefore, effectively shuts off the most accessible export route for those goods. Tapas Pramanik, president of the Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association (BJSA) told Prothom Alo that Bangaldesh government needs to take this issue up with India at the earliest. “It is like watching one lamp after another go out. India is taking one step after another that harms Bangladesh. We have told the government before, and will tell them again, to initiate bilateral talks over these restrictions,” Mr Pramanik said India in April withdrew permission for Bangladesh to use Kolkata Airport as a transit point for exporting goods to other countries. In May, it restricted imports through land ports of items such as readymade garments, processed foods etc. Meanwhile, the government on Tuesday said no additional tariffs have been imposed on Indian exports to the United States of America in sectors like pharmaceuticals, and electronics so far. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada said it is estimated that around 55 per cent of the total value of India’s merchandise exports to the US is subjected to this reciprocal tariff, he said, adding that additional ad valorem rate of duty of 25 per cent with effect from August 27 has been imposed on certain goods exported from India. He also said the government is engaged with all stakeholders, including exporters and industry, for taking feedback of their assessment of the impact from the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the US. The government has asserted that certain red lines cannot be crossed in the trade negotiations with the US and that it is making “focused efforts” as part of an export diversification strategy to mitigate the adverse impact of the high tariff imposed by the US, sources said. At a briefing to the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri suggested that India will take up with the US the use of its soil by Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir for making nuclear threat to New Delhi, the sources said.
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