- The Nepal Trade Preferences Legislation authorises special trade preferences for Nepal
- It will grant duty-free tariff benefits for up to 66 types of items
- The 10-year programme is designed to help Nepal’s economic recovery from the earthquakes that last year
- It also authorises a trade capacity building programme, focused on helping Nepal implement the World Trade Organisation’s Trade Facilitation Agreement
Kathmandu, February 25
United States President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed a legislation authorising special trade preferences for Nepal, the US Embassy in Kathmandu said in a press release. The legislation will grant duty-free tariff benefits for up to 66 types of items, including certain carpets, headgear, shawls, scarves, and travel goods.
Authorised for 10 years, the Nepal programmme is designed to help Nepal’s economic recovery from the earthquakes that struck the country last year, according to the embassy. It will grant duty-free tariff benefits for Nepali exports not currently eligible for benefits under the General System of Preferences. The Nepal Trade Preferences Legislation also authorises a trade capacity building programme, focused on helping Nepal implement the World Trade Organisation’s Trade Facilitation Agreement.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for Nepali business to expand their imports to US markets,” said US Ambassador Alaina B Teplitz. “We look forward to learning more about Nepal’s plans for implementing the WTO Trade Facilitation Programme and how the United States Government can contribute to this goal,”
For the new trade preference programme to go into effect, certain administrative steps need to be completed in the United States. First, the President must certify that Nepal meets the eligibility requirements of the programme, which are the same as those for African Growth and Opportunity Act countries.
The US International Trade Commission will also need to review the products covered by the preference programme to ensure that an increase in imports of these products into the US market will not negatively affect the US economy. These statutorily-required reviews will take several months to complete.
