The Hindu : Dhaka seeks more trade concessions

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 06, 2002

International

International

Dhaka seeks more trade concessions

By Haroon Habib

DHAKA May 5. The Bangladesh Commerce Ministry has said the Indian announcement to allow duty-free access to 13 categories of Bangladesh products "did not contain export potential items". Officials in the Ministry of Commerce and its allied bodies said India had not shown "any intention" to provide access to Bangladeshi products even a month after the last round of trade talks.

``The Indian authorities have allowed duty-free access to 12 Bangladeshi products under 13 categories although we have 120 high potential items under 25 categories'', a Commerce Ministry statement said on Saturday. It said the Indian side split the 13 categories into 16, which did not include all items under the categories.

Senior officials, who attended the Commerce Secretary-level talks between the two neighbours in Dhaka last month, said items having high export potential were not included in the ``offered list'' provided by India. "What is the problem if they (India) accept our list of 25 category products? We had a very bitter experience with India regarding our lead acid battery export'', the Commerce Secretary, Suhel Ahmed, said at a press briefing.

He refuted Indian claims that Bangladesh did not have the capacity to export items in its list because of its narrow export base.

``It is true that our export basket is narrow. Still, we export goods worth around $3 billion to the European Union and $2.5 billion to the U.S.'', Mr. Ahmed, who led the Bangladesh team in the talks, said. "We hope that India would look at the huge trade gap it has with Bangladesh and give us a meaningful concession''.

There is a huge cumulative trade gap between Bangladesh and India since the country's independence in 1971.

Had India given duty-free access to all the items under 25 categories as demanded by it and removed all non-tariff and para-tariff barriers, Bangladesh exports would have increased reducing the gap to a tolerable limit, the officials said.

They said the business community was astonished when India wanted trade facilities from Bangladesh although it maintained a huge trade balance in its favour. According to the Ministry, the country's trade gap with India was $150 million in 1990-91, which soared to over $1 billion in 2000-01.

Mr. Ahmed said the next round of trade talks would be held this year.

"Talks will continue and Bangladesh will demand preferential treatment as a least developed country''.

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