India stops trans-shipment to Bangladesh after Yunus calls Northeast 'landlocked'
India has revoked a key transit facility for Bangladeshi exports via its territory, days after Dhaka's interim leader Muhammad Yunus pitched for China's economic entry into India's Northeast.
Move followed Dhaka's call for Chinese expansion in Northeast India
Facility eased Bangladeshi trade with Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar
Rollback may boost Indian textile, footwear, and jewellery sectors
The Modi government has rescinded a critical transshipment facility granted to Bangladesh that allowed its export cargo to move to third countries via Indian Land Customs Stations (LCSs), ports, and airports.
The move came days after Chief Adviser of Bangladesh's interim government, Muhammad Yunus, advocated for the extension of the Chinese economy into the strategically important Northeast India region, calling it 'landlocked'. The facility, introduced in June 2020, enabled smoother trade for Bangladeshi exports to nations such as Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar.
The decision was formalised through a circular issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on April 8. "It has been decided to rescind... circular...dated June 29, 2020, as amended with immediate effect. Cargo already entered into India may be allowed to exit the Indian territory as per the procedure given in that circular," the notification stated.
According to trade experts, the rollback of this facility is expected to benefit several Indian export sectors, including textiles, footwear, and gems and jewellery — industries where Bangladesh is a formidable competitor, particularly in apparel.
Positioning Dhaka as the "only guardian of the ocean" in South Asia, the Chief Adviser urged Beijing to deepen its economic footprint in Bangladesh.
"The seven states of India, the eastern part of India, are called the Seven Sisters. They are a landlocked region of India. They have no way to reach out to the ocean. So this opens up a huge possibility. This could be an extension of the Chinese economy," Yunus had said at a high-level roundtable discussion in Beijing.
Responding to Yunus's remarks, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar slammed Bangladesh and said India believes that cooperation is an integrated outlook, not one subject to cherry-picking.
"We, after all, have the longest coastline in the Bay of Bengal, of almost 6,500 km. India shares borders not only with the five BIMSTEC members, and connects most of them, but also provides much of the interface between the Indian sub-continent and ASEAN.
Our North-Eastern region in particular is emerging as a connectivity hub for the BIMSTEC, with a myriad network of roads, railways, waterways, grids and pipelines," the External Affairs Minister said.
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