Former GTRI chief on chicken Neck and Yunus' statement...
Bangladesh was till now trading with many countries through indian land, the facility given to it for this has been stopped by the indian government. The government has taken this step after the statement of Bangladesh's Chief Advisor Mohammad Yunus, in which he had appealed to china for economic expansion by referring to the northeastern states of India. Experts said on this decision of the government that india takes care of the interests of Bangladesh, but India's national security is not being taken care of regarding chicken Neck, which may be the reason for this step of India.
India has been providing transshipment facility to bangladesh since the year 2020, through which Bangladesh exports goods to Nepal, Myanmar and Bhutan. Bangladeshi export cargo is placed in containers and closed trucks and transported to the ports or airports of these countries via indian Land Customs Stations (LCSs).
During his visit to china last month, Mohammad Yunus had appealed to china to trade through the sea, citing India's northeastern states because these states are landlocked and he had described bangladesh as the only sea guardian in this area. Apart from this, there is also talk of china building an airfield in chicken Neck in bangladesh, for which bangladesh has invited china for direct military cooperation. Mohammad Yunus had also told china that it can produce things in bangladesh and send them to other countries.
Think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said on the action of the indian government that the new circular regarding transshipment will come into effect with immediate effect, but the Bangladeshi cargo that has entered the Indian territory will be allowed to exit as per the existing system. Former trade officer and head of GTRI, Ajay Srivastava said that india is constantly taking care of the interests of Bangladesh.
He said that india trades with bangladesh under a one-way tariff system. india has provided zero-tariff facility to bangladesh for nearly two decades. He said that apart from cigarettes and liquor, india does not impose tariff on other Bangladeshi goods. india imports textiles, pharmaceuticals, leather and leather goods from Bangladesh. At the same time, bangladesh is dependent on india for rice, wheat, onion, garlic, sugar, cotton, grains, refined petroleum, electric equipment, plastic and steel.
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