After Turkey, Azerbaijaan, India takes step to teach Bangladesh a lesson, imposes ban on ready-made garments, plastic…, Full list here

New Delhi: India has imposed a ban on the entry of Bangladeshi ready-made garments, plastic products, and other goods through its northeastern land ports—Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram—as well as through Fulbari and Changrabandha in West Bengal. This comes after Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus referred to India’s northeastern states as “landlocked regions without access to the sea,” which sparked a diplomatic dispute during his speech in China.

India has taken Muhammad Yunus’s statement as an attempt to disturb regional connectivity and stability. After the Modi government’s stern order, Bangladesh will now have to export ready-made garments (RMG), plastic, melamine, furniture, juice, carbonated drinks, bakery items, confectionery, and processed food products through Kolkata port in West Bengal or Nhava Sheva port in Maharashtra. This will now result into a sharp increase in logistics costs.

To recall, 93 percent of Bangladesh’s exports to India used these land routes, so the impact on its RMG sector—which exports textiles worth nearly USD 740 million to India annually—could be significant. Indian authorities have defended the move as a step toward ensuring “fair trade.” They also pointed out that Bangladesh charges Indian goods 1.8 taka per ton per kilometer—more than double its domestic rate of 0.8 taka.

An Indian official stated, “Bangladesh cannot access the market without reciprocity. For years, India has granted concessions without receiving equivalent benefits. This decision restores balance.”

According to the reports, the Bangladesh government continues to impose port restrictions on Indian exports, particularly at Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) along the borders of northeastern states. Industrial development in the northeastern region faces a triple threat, as Bangladesh is imposing unfairly high and economically unviable transit fees, preventing access from the Indian mainland to the Northeast.

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