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US assures Nepal full use of TPA facility
The US government has reaffirmed its commitment to facilitate production and trading of the 66 products it has been providing duty free access to Nepal through Trade Preferences Act (TPA).The US government has reaffirmed its commitment to facilitate production and trading of the 66 products it has been providing duty free access to Nepal through Trade Preferences Act (TPA).
The commitment was made during the third joint council meeting of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (Tifa) on Thursday.
The US officials expressed their commitment to help Nepal maximise benefits through the trading of these goods.
Enforcing the TPA in 2015, the US government has come up with the duty free access to 66 products that have high potential in the world’s largest economy. The goods considered under preference include certain carpets and pashmina, headgear, shawls, scarves and travel goods. Nepal has been offered the facility until 2025.
“The US officials have assured the maximum utilisation of the TPA facility,” said Commerce Secretary Naindra Prasad Upadhyaya. “They have expressed interest in providing technical assistance in supply chain of these products,” he said.
The US team has also agreed to enhance the capacity of Trade and Export Promotion Centre—Nepal government’s only trade facilitating body. “We have been asked to identify the tangible areas for collaboration,” Upadhyaya said.
The US officials also expressed interest in extending support for export of potential goods identified by Nepal Trade Integration Strategy 2016. The government ambitious programme has considered nine goods with a high potential for export to the US.
According to Upadhyaya, the US is also keen on boosting the investment environment in Nepal. “For the purpose, they agreed to extend help for reforms of the financial sector and policies related to improving investment environment.”
The US government has also expressed its commitment to strengthen Nepali goods in relation to the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the ministry said. TRIPS talks were focused on protecting the intellectual property rights such as patent right, copyright, trademark, industrial design, geographical indication, layout design and undisclosed information.
Tifa is a bilateral pact aimed at promoting trade and investment between the two countries. The first conference of the Tifa council was held in April 2011 in Washington DC.