Nepal to ask US for GSP facility for 50 products
KATHMANDU, SEP 27 -
The government is poised to apply for the US Generalized System of Preferences ( GSP ), asking the US government to provide such facilities for 50 Nepali items. The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) is making the request following the expiry of the original GSP on July 31, 2013.
The ministry had previously planned to apply for duty-free access for around 10 more products with competitive advantage, along with those that previously enjoyed the facility.
The Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC) had prepared a draft of the proposal, recommending that textiles, garments, silver jewellery, handicrafts, pashmina and agro products like tea, coffee, cardamom, fruits, herbs and handmade paper be included for the facility. However, as the ministry did not find all the recommended items appropriate for the facility, an internal committee has been formed to prepare another list. “We are now asking the US government to offer preferential treatment for around 50 Nepali items,” said Jib Raj Koirala, MoCS joint secretary.
The items, however, are beyond those that had previously been enjoying the facility. According to Koirala, most of the items chosen for the facility belong to garment and handicraft related products. Under the GSP system, designed to promote economic growth in the least developed countries (LDCs), Nepali products received duty-free access to the US market. The programme, which was launched in 1979, expired on July 31, 2013. Following its expiry, the US government had asked beneficiary countries to apply for duty-free treatment by Oct 4 this year.
Abha Shrestha, under secretary at the MoCS, said the ministry was likely to request the US government for the facility within a couple of days. She said the ministry had undertaken research and discussions with stakeholders, including line ministries and the private sector, to choose the items.
“We have focused on products having a higher competitive advantage and value addition,” she said. “The ministry chose the items after studying their relevance and the extent of benefit
the country would receive if the products receive the facility.”
She added that the ministry had prepared a detailed proposal about the products, including their harmonise code, the country’s potential to produce and export them and the amount of benefit the country would receive from the export of those items to the US.
Ministry officials said that though the GSP facility covered 5,000 items from 127 countries, the list included only 5 percent of Nepali products, including Nepali flags, Nepali caps, cigars and scarves, among others, of the total items exported to the US. “There was a necessity to expand the list for the facility as only a few items had been receiving the facility earlier,” said a ministry official.
According to the stakeholders, Nepal never benefited from the GSP as the facility did not cover competitive local products with a higher advantage, including textiles and garments.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
