India has recommended new anti-subsidy duties on jute products imported from Bangladesh, following a recent imposition of anti-dumping tariffs on similar goods. The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) announced on September 28 that it had concluded an investigation into subsidies provided to exporters in Bangladesh and Nepal, resulting in suggested countervailing duties reaching up to $140.04 per tonne for Bangladeshi jute goods.

The DGTR’s inquiry, launched last year after petitions from the Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA) and the A.P. Mesta Twine Mills Association (AJMA), examined import and market data from April 2024 through March 2025. The investigation covered a range of products including jute yarn and twine, sacking bags and cloth, hessian fabrics, and diversified jute goods containing at least 50 percent jute.

Under the final recommendations, certain Bangladeshi exporters, such as Sagar Jute Spinning Mills Ltd and Oriental Jute Mills Ltd, were assigned specific countervailing duties of $101.54 per tonne. A total of 24 Bangladeshi mills cooperated with the investigation: six sampled millers were divided into three categories with varying duty rates, while 18 non-sampled mills were subject to a uniform rate of $116.48 per tonne. Other Bangladeshi exporters not cooperating with the probe face the highest duty of $140.04 per tonne. Nepalese exporters have been assigned duties ranging between $54.77 and $60.54 per tonne.

This move follows the Finance Ministry’s decision on September 24 to impose fresh anti-dumping duties of up to $445 per tonne on Bangladeshi jute products, including yarn and twine. Prior to these recent actions, India had already applied anti-dumping duties ranging from $19 to $352 per tonne on jute yarn, twine, hessian fabric, and jute sacking bags from Bangladesh and Nepal. These measures have significantly contributed to a decline in Bangladesh’s jute shipments to India, one of its largest export markets.

Data from the DGTR shows that Bangladesh’s jute exports to India fell 18 percent year-on-year, dropping to approximately 117,000 tonnes in fiscal year 2024-25. Overall, Bangladesh’s jute and jute goods export earnings declined from $1.16 billion in fiscal year 2021 to $820 million in fiscal year 2025 before rising slightly to $884 million in fiscal year 2026.

Officials in Bangladesh have voiced concerns about the recent duties. Mostafa Abid Khan, CEO of the Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute, highlighted that subsidies are typically provided to entire sectors rather than individual producers, questioning the validity of countervailing duties targeted at specific exporters. He noted that anti-dumping duties already in place had not adjusted for subsidy effects, suggesting that imposing additional countervailing duties may violate World Trade Organization rules under Article VI of GATT 1994.

Similarly, Tapash Pramanik, chairman of the Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association, criticized the new countervailing duties, questioning the logic of such measures when anti-dumping duties remain active. He also stressed that the incentive structures supporting the jute industry have changed over the past decade, and claimed Bangladesh’s concerns have been overlooked by Indian authorities. Pramanik called on the Bangladeshi government to consider challenging India’s actions on international platforms.