Trade and export

Due to some nasty laws, India did not allow us to export goods there.Now...

India is ready to cut down more items from its negative list with regard to Bangladesh to expand trade with the neighbouring country,

said a senior commerce ministry official yesterday.

Last year, India shortened its sensitive list from 744 to 480.

"We are open, we are prepared to review our negative list and take it further down," Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce Rajeev Kher said at a CII function.

He said Bangladesh, how ever, should ensure that Indian investments are facilitated in Bangladesh besides providing better transit facilities.

"...it cannot be a situation where India goes on doing things and does not see appropriate response from the other side," he added.

India became the biggest exporter to Bangladesh (3.27 billion US dollars), overtaking China in 2007-08. Trade between the two countries stood at 3.6 billion US dollars.

India has already scrapped import duty on all items other than those in the negative list for LDCs of South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) with effect from 1 January this year.

The LDCs in the region are Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal.

An investment promotion agreement between India and Bangladesh is expected to be inked during External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee's forthcoming visit to Bangladesh.

The sensitive list of goods refers to the list of products where no tariff benefits would be offered.