A national jute advisory committee meeting in Bangladesh has decided to immediately engage with India for lifting of the anti-dumping duty on import of jute products as a fifth of the country's yearly jute exports are at stake.
The meeting, held at the Textiles and Jute Ministry, also decided that the duty issuance wouldalso be discussed during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to India which is expected next month.
A number of stakeholders, who participated in the meeting, said that they would use "diplomatic and political" means first before going for any legal recourse involving the World Trade Organization (WTO), reports the Daily Times.
Since the January 5 following the imposition of the anti-dumping duty ranging from USD 6.30 to USD 351.72 per tonne, jute products worth over USD 12 million under shipment to India got stuck in the ports, according to sources.
Of the total USD 919 million worth of jute and jute goods Bangladesh exported in the last financial year (2015-16), over USD 260 million of the same were sent to India.
Earlier this month, the Indian government imposed anti-dumping duty for a period of five years on imports of jute and its products from Bangladesh and Nepal to protect domestic industry.