India terminates trans-shipment facility for Bangladesh to export goods to third countries

The external affairs ministry on Wednesday cited congestion at Indian airports and ports as the reason for the move, which came days after Bangladesh interim government chief Muhammad Yunus’ controversial remarks leveraging the isolation of India’s landlocked northeastern states while seeking Chinese investments.

A circular from India’s customs department issued on April 8 rescinded the arrangement of June 2020 allowing the trans-shipment of export cargo from Bangladesh to third countries via Indian airports and ports. Bangladesh used the arrangement to move cargo through Indian land customs stations to be shipped to destinations in Europe, West Asia and other regions.

“This was a facility that was extended to Bangladesh in 2020. The trans-shipment facility extended to Bangladesh had, over a period of time, resulted in significant congestion at our airports and ports,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a weekly media briefing.