Sub-regional Co-operation in Eastern India and Bangladesh

Abstract

The basic premise of an efficient global market is the smooth flow of goods, services, technology and people across borders. This calls for a removal of barriers and reduction in transaction costs for such flows. It is therefore ironic that in a rapidly globalising world economy there are contiguous regions sharing the same geography that have some of the highest barriers and transaction costs, thereby preventing efficient regional market integration. One prime example of such a region, and the subject of this analysis, is Eastern India–Bangladesh (henceforth EIB) sub-region, which occupies the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. Appropriate investment in infrastructure (roads, warehousing and inland waterways) and technology can go a long way in ameliorating transaction costs of trading across borders. Technology solutions addressing the problems of Trade Facilitation include Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) between customs facilities within the country and across borders, identification numbers, bar codes or other forms of electronic identification for trucks and cargo containers, the establishment of a freight operation information system for real time monitoring of trains, wagons and cargo and implementation of smart card system for expediting all transactions associated with cross border movement. Given these issues, this paper investigates the political and technological feasibility of implementing a modern Trade Facilitation system in the context of Eastern India-Bangladesh sub-region.