Bro, punitive tariffs only hurt the host country.
This is the Indian disease.
What’s the point of placing tariff on stuff we can never produce competitively.
Instead of putting tariff on Indian products - Hasina is cajoling India to lower tariff on Bangladeshi products.
That’s the win, win scenario.
Which is why Bangladesh exports more to India than China.
Your hate for Hinduvta should not blind you into self harm.
Tariffs and Non-Tariff Barrier (NTB) instruments Indian customs uses against our exports to India is based on lies and flimsy pretexts. Indian customs is paid off by Indian Banyas to block cheaper and better quality Bangladeshi exports to India. These Banyas know they cannot compete on neither quality nor price, so they are blocking competition any low-life way they can.
The only way to counter those would have been placing tit-for-tat punitive tariffs against Indian products in Bangladesh, which is the only language Indians will understand. Sweet talking Indians WILL NOT WORK.
But we do not do that. All we do is take them to the WTO and WTO does nothing, which is an eye-wash and a disservice to not only our exporters, but also the poor majdoor mehnati people in our country who work for a pittance and are trying to improve their marginal lives.
If one is an elite Bangladeshi chetonabadi (like some here)- they do not understand it, because they don't really care about our Bangladeshi poor. Just like the Hindutva people in India don't care about their poor. Same extreme mentality, different country.
Some in Bangladesh are living in a fool's paradise thinking Indian banyas will all of a sudden grow a conscience and a demeanor of fairness/egalitarianism and let our exports enter their market. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. To unseat a badly seated nail, you need a nail puller. An infected tooth needs a pair of pliers, not delicate tweezers. Taking India to the WTO will not work. Hard circumstances need tough measures to correct.
When you say that we will hurt ourselves by using Tariffs and NTB's against Indian products, I am frankly puzzled. Can you explain how it will hurt us? We consume almost $50 Billion of Indian imported products and services, and we exported maybe $2Billion to their market last year. How WILL IT hurt us?
Raising gradual tariffs on some things have actually helped some product manufacturing take off in Bangladesh, like cellphones and motorcycles.
The govt. was forced by certain commercial quarters to
raise tariffs on imported completely assembled cellphones as well as
imported completely assembled motorcycles. At the same time -
tariffs on motorcycle and cellphone PARTS were reduced. Which made investors invest in assembly of these items locally, which have a huge demand.
This means our people have a job locally doing something to make a living.
I am amazed how many people in Bangladesh are dumb enough to not even realize this. The more jobs you have at home making something, which means adding value, the more your local GDP increases.
Why should we consume things made overseas (especially India)?? They are doing this in one-sided fashion for fifty years !!
Putting tariffs on completely assembled items made overseas instantly encouraged the rise of cellphone manufacturing and motorcycles assembly from Indian and Chinese parts in Bangladesh. HERO HONDA and other Indian motorcycle makers started importing Indian parts and started making motorcycles locally in Bangladesh. Ditto with Ashok Leyland Buses and Trucks who set up a factory to supply chassis and completed bus and truck bodies.
Eventually when our local brands start manufacturing their own parts and have low cost components and end product, import of Indian items and even assembly of Indian products locally may stop because of OUR COST ADVANTAGE. We will become self-sufficient in manufacturing with our own brands being better than Indian ones. We will become more competitive than India because of a better quality product at a lower price.
This is the end state but if we don't put tariffs on Indian products and fully assembled imports from other countries including India
RIGHT NOW , it will never happen. We will remain a trade-vassal of India forever and never develop the capability of industrializing our own country. Indian Govt. will never support this process but we must.
We MUST WATCH OUR OWN INTEREST WITH A LASER FOCUS.
Once the industries for cellphones and Motorcycles are more established, then tariffs will also be raised on PARTS so local parts production can flourish. Motorcycle and two-wheeler companies will invest more in local PARTS manufacturing like engines, forks, electronics, fuel injection components etc.
This will make Bangladesh capable of building motorcycles and manufacture cellphones more or or less from scratch, with much larger local/indigenous content. This is how India developed their local motorcycle industry. And every other industry.
Twenty or so years ago, HERO had a joint venture with HONDA, KAWASAKI with Bajaj, LML with VESPA (every Indian company did). Once they became self-reliant, they dissolved these Japanese/EU JVs. Now some Sanghi Indians claim they invented motorcycle manufacturing with their own technology.
Some here accuse me of blind Hindutva Hatred.
I have never advocated hatred towards anyone because of where they were born (or who they are), however I have advocated certain policies that help us as a country grow our own industry, as I come from an entrepreneur/exporter family and maintain close contact with the local chambers. This is a basic, basic requirement, our people in Bangladesh NEED TO EAT and NEED PLACES TO LIVE IN (especially semi-skilled semi-educated people right now). Singing Rabindra Sangeet and having Hindutva-inspired Chetona-themed processions and gatherings in Bangladesh are secondary.
I will always advocate building our own industrial and commercial capabilities in my country Bangladesh instead of building that up in another country. Indians will invariably do the same thing in their self-interest.
Currently we in Bangladesh are watching more of India's interest rather than our own. And it starts at the very top of our leadership and the corrupt cabinet members RAW has chosen for her. AL leaders have to understand that policy and tariffs are the root causes and progenitors of industrialization and providing good jobs to Bangladeshis. If they don't take care of their electorate, their Bangladeshi electorate will reject them summarily in the next election.
Either Hasina stands to serve her masters in Delhi, or build up her own country industrially and provide jobs.
Cannot do both - they are diametrically opposed.
She has to make a choice.
