Garment entrepreneurs in Nepal are waiting for March 11, when Deputy Assistant Trade Representative Dawn Shackle is scheduled to visit Nepal from the US, and is expected to give them clarity on the products that will get preferential treatment in the US market.
The United States, through a recently enacted Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, has extended duty-free access to 66 Nepali items to its market, including apparels. However, it is still not clear which items will come under the purview of the Act. In this regard, Garment Association, Nepal has also approached lawyers in the United States to interpret the recent law, who, however, were not very helpful in clearing the air over the Act either. According to Chandi Aryal, Acting President of the Garment Association, Nepal, “We are waiting for the Deputy Assistant Trade Representative’s visit to be clear about the facility.”
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Meanwhile, Nepali entrepreneurs hope that a majority of apparel items will be incorporated in the law. They hope that the recently ratified Act is like the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), which deals with preferential treatment in export to the US market from African countries.
Aryal said, “The United States has been extending duty-free facility to all apparel items exported from African countries to the US market under the same provision that has been extended to Nepal.”
However, AGOA has incorporated 1,800 African products, while Nepal received duty-free access for only 66 products.
