ALSO READJute Wars: India blocks imports from Bangladesh; Find out why?
According to the order, the ban will apply to items falling under specific Harmonised System (HS) codes. These include bleached and unbleached woven fabrics made of jute or other textile bast fibres; twine, cordage, and rope made of jute; twine, cordage, rope, and cables; as well as sacks and bags made of jute.
The directive also mentioned that other terms and conditions of the previous order “shall remain in force without change”.
Wouldn’t apply to Bangladesh exports to Nepal or Bhutan
Earlier, in a notification dated June 27, the department listed several goods from Bangladesh that would be subject to regulation. These include flax tow and waste (including yarn waste and garnetted stock); jute and other textile bast fibres, raw or retted; jute (excluding flax, true hemp, and ramie); single flax yarn; single yarn of jute or other textile bast fibres; multiple folded yarn; woven fabrics of flax; and unbleached woven fabrics of jute or other textile bast fibres.
The notification further said these restrictions wouldn’t apply to Bangladesh exports to Nepal or Bhutan, while noting, “Re-export of the aforesaid Bangladesh Goods to India from Nepal/Bhutan shall not be allowed.”
ALSO READIndia restricts imports of jute and flax from Bangladesh
Before this, on May 17, India banned all ready-made garments from any land port except for the ones in Navi Mumbai and Kolkata. It further banned fruit or fruit flavoured and carbonated drinks; processed food items, including baked goods, snacks, chips and confectionery; cotton and cotton yarn waste; plastic and PVC finished goods, excluding pigments, dyes, plasticisers, and granules that form input for own industries; and wooden furniture from any LCSs or ICPs in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram, and LCS Changrabandha and Fulbari in West Bengal.
India also revoked the transhipment facility it had granted to Bangladesh on April 9, which allowed Dhaka to export goods to the Middle East, Europe, and several other countries, excluding Nepal and Bhutan.
India’s strained ties with Bangladesh
These actions against Bangladesh came after the country’s interim government head, Muhammad Yunus, made controversial remarks during his four-day visit to China from March 26 to 29. His statements were issued at a time when India’s ties with Bangladesh were already strained.
“Seven states of India, the eastern part of India, called the seven sisters… they are a landlocked country, a landlocked region of India. They have no way to reach out to the ocean,” Yunus said.
He added, “We are the only guardians of the ocean for all this region. So this opens up a huge possibility. So this could be an extension of the Chinese economy. Build things, produce things, market things, bring things to China, bring them out to the whole rest of the world.”
After the Sheikh Hasina government was ousted from power, the relations between New Delhi and Dhaka have been strained due to the country’s growing proximity to China. Also, Bagla exports and the influx of cheap jute from Bangladesh are harming Indian jute farmers.