Written by The Banking Post
The Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) has formed a nine-member committee to investigate complaints of unfair trade practices, including the dumping of foreign goods at artificially low prices, as the country braces for a more competitive trade environment after graduating from least-developed country status.
The panel, headed by BTTC Trade Remedy Division member Md Enamul Hoque, will examine allegations of dumping and other distortionary practices and recommend measures to protect domestic industries from injury, according to an office order issued earlier this month.
The committee will also deal with post-adoption legal matters, including appeals at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and issue trade-related notices to stakeholders.
The move comes at a time when several Bangladeshi exports are facing anti-dumping duties abroad. Jute and jute products, hydrogen peroxide, artificial staple fibre and knitted textile gloves from Bangladesh are currently subject to such duties in Brazil, Pakistan, India, Turkey and Argentina.
Although Bangladesh has a legal framework largely aligned with WTO rules under the Customs Act 2023, the country has made limited use of trade remedy tools such as anti-dumping measures, countervailing duties and safeguard mechanisms to protect local industries, according to a study by the Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI).
The issue is expected to become more important after Bangladesh’s graduation from the least-developed country category, when the country will lose much of the policy flexibility that has traditionally allowed it to protect domestic industries through instruments such as regulatory duties, supplementary duties and minimum tariff values.
A BTTC official said import duties on various products would also decline as Bangladesh fulfils its commitments under bilateral and multilateral trade agreements.
According to the BFTI study, lower tariffs could expose local industries to greater risks from dumped goods, subsidised imports and sudden surges in overseas products.
The formation of the panel also comes amid fresh developments in India. Last week, India’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies concluded in a mid-term review that Bangladeshi exporters had continued to dump jute products, causing injury to Indian producers.
Indian authorities are now expected to recommend extending anti-dumping duties on jute imports from Bangladesh, despite a decline in shipments in recent years, raising concerns among local mill owners.
