Escaping India's Anti-Dumping Duties: Lessons from the Past for Bangladesh's Trade Future

Undoubtedly, Bangladesh and India have had strong economic ties over the years. Despite that Bangladesh continues to face a significant trade deficit with India, making it one of the country's largest bilateral trade imbalances. In FY2024–25, Bangladesh exported goods worth approximately US$1.76 billion to India, while imports from India reached about US$9.62 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of nearly US$7.86 billion. The imbalance is largely driven by Bangladesh's dependence on Indian cotton, yarn, machinery, petroleum products, chemicals, and food commodities. Although Bangladeshi exports to India have gradually diversified, the gap remains substantial.  Bangladesh exports a wide range of products to India, with ready-made garments (RMG), jute and jute products, textiles, leather and footwear, pharmaceuticals, plastic goods, ceramics, processed food, fish and seafood, and agricultural products being the major export items. In recent years, exports have also expanded to include bicycles, light engineering products, paper products, and home textiles. Despite this growing export basket, Bangladeshi exporters continue to face challenges such as non-tariff barriers and anti-dumping measures, which constrain the full potential of bilateral trade.

Recently, India has initiated an anti-dumping investigation into imports of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film from Bangladesh. PET film is widely used in the packaging of food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and various industrial products. As part of the investigation, India's Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has scheduled a virtual oral hearing on 6 August. The DGTR, an agency under India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is responsible for conducting trade remedy investigations. The information was confirmed by sources at Bangladesh's Ministry of Commerce. According to sources, the hearing was scheduled following a letter dated 13 July, in which the Indian authorities accepted the complaint filed by domestic producers. The producers alleged that PET film was being exported to India at dumped prices from Bangladesh, China, and Thailand, causing material injury to the domestic industry. They have therefore requested the imposition of anti-dumping duties on imports of the product.

In the past, India has imposed anti-dumping duties on several Bangladeshi products to protect its domestic industries from allegedly unfairly priced imports. At present, the most notable Bangladeshi products facing Indian anti-dumping measures include jute goods—particularly jute yarn, twine, and woven fabrics—as well as hydrogen peroxide. These duties have increased the cost of Bangladeshi exports in the Indian market, reducing their competitiveness and affecting export earnings. The continuation of such measures highlights the need for Bangladesh to diversify its export markets and strengthen trade negotiations with India. India's anti-dumping measures have had a measurable impact on Bangladesh's export sector, particularly the jute industry. In January 2017, India imposed anti-dumping duties ranging from US$19 to US$352 per metric tonne on Bangladeshi jute yarn, twine, hessian fabric, and sacking bags, leading to a noticeable decline in Bangladesh's jute exports to the Indian market. Before the duties, jute and jute products accounted for 37.8% of Bangladesh's exports to India in FY2015–16, but exports fell significantly in the following years as Bangladeshi products became less competitive. In addition to jute, India also imposed anti-dumping duties on hydrogen peroxide, further limiting Bangladesh's market access. These trade remedies reduced export earnings, squeezed profit margins of exporters, widened Bangladesh's trade deficit with India, and created uncertainty for investment in export-oriented industries. The experience underscores the importance of diversifying export destinations, strengthening trade diplomacy, and ensuring compliance with international trade rules to minimize the risk of future anti-dumping actions.

Again, Bangladesh has experienced cases where India's anti-dumping measures were eventually withdrawn following legal review and changing market conditions. A notable example is hydrogen peroxide. India imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of hydrogen peroxide from Bangladesh to protect its domestic producers, alleging that Bangladeshi exporters were selling the product below its normal value. However, after conducting a sunset review, India's Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) concluded that there was insufficient evidence that the expiry of the duty would lead to the continuation or recurrence of dumping and injury. Consequently, India withdrew the anti-dumping duty in 2022, restoring normal market access for Bangladeshi exporters. Bangladesh addressed the issue through cooperation with the investigating authorities, submission of cost and pricing data, and continued diplomatic engagement rather than retaliatory trade measures. The hydrogen peroxide case demonstrates that anti-dumping duties are not necessarily permanent; with transparent evidence, compliance with WTO rules, and effective trade diplomacy, such measures can be successfully reviewed and removed. This experience offers an important lesson for Bangladesh in dealing with this case.

As Bangladesh has previously faced anti-dumping actions from India, particularly in the jute sector. In those cases, rather than responding with retaliatory trade measures, they pursued a combination of diplomatic engagement, legal action, and market diversification. The government, together with the Bangladesh Jute Mills Association (BJMA) and exporters, challenged the duties through the World Trade Organization (WTO)consultation mechanism while simultaneously holding bilateral discussions with India. Exporters also sought to reduce dependence on the Indian market by expanding shipments to destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia. Although the anti-dumping duties were later reviewed and extended by India, Bangladesh's response demonstrated the importance of relying on WTO rules, strengthening trade diplomacy, improving pricing transparency, and diversifying export markets instead of escalating trade tensions. This experience definitely provides a valuable policy lesson for addressing these anti-dumping investigations against Bangladeshi exports.

Although India's anti-dumping investigation into Bangladeshi PET film exports has raised concerns, Bangladesh still has room to address the issue through diplomatic and institutional engagement. By actively participating in the investigation, presenting transparent cost and pricing data, and utilizing bilateral trade dialogue mechanisms, Bangladesh can seek a fair and rules-based outcome. While the dispute has the potential to create temporary trade frictions as well, it does not necessarily have to escalate into broader economic tensions. Both countries should prioritize constructive dialogue, strengthen technical cooperation, enhance transparency in trade practices, and fully utilize existing bilateral and regional trade platforms to prevent misunderstandings and preserve their long-standing economic partnership. Hopefully, Bangladesh will be able to clear the allegations with concrete proof against India's anti-dumping measures imposition.

Written By: Md. Al-Amin

Md. Al-Amin is an educator, who completed his post-graduation from the Department of International Relations at Rajshahi University,Bangladesh. His research interests are Diplomacy, Foreign policy, Border conflicts, and Security issues.

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