India has imposed restrictions on the imports of ready -made clothes and foods manufactured by Bangladesh, in light of the deterioration of relations between the two neighbor in recent months.
The Indian Ministry of Commerce said in a statement that “all kinds of ready -made clothes from Bangladesh will be allowed to enter through any wild port,” without giving reasons for its decision, which entered into force immediately.
The restrictions are also applied to cotton and fruits imports, some plastic products and wooden furniture in specific ports.
Rising tension
According to Bloomberg, the move comes in light of the escalation of tension between India and its eastern neighbor after the overthrow of the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikha Hasina from the Authority in 2024, and India houses Hasina since its escape from Dhaka last August, and is still not committed to the request of Bangladesh to submit it.
Tension in relations with India, Bangladesh, is pushing rapprochement with China and other East Asian economies, and the restrictions of land ports may affect relations between the two countries, as India was the third largest trading partner for Bangladesh in 2024, and this may affect goods worth about 770 million dollars, or approximately 42% of Bangladesh’s exports to India, according to the Economic newspaper Indian Times, quoting data from the World Trade Research Initiative.
Exemption
The restrictions announced yesterday, Saturday, do not apply to imports through Nava Shiva and Calcutta ports, and Bangladesh’s exports to Nepal and Batun crossing India, and fish imports, liquefied oil gas, food and broken stone from Bangladesh were exempted from the restrictions.
The Bangladeshi newspaper Bruitoum Alo reported that sending goods via land roads to India takes 3 days, while maritime roads take two weeks, indicating a blow to the country’s exports of the sudden Indian step, as well as Bloomberg.
