Under the GSP system, US pledges duty-free market access to a range of listed commodities. [break]
“We have already instructed Nepali Embassy in Washington DC to file a petition for inclusion of 11 items of Nepal´s export interest in the GSP,” said an official at Ministry of Commerce and Supply (MoCS).
The GSP was devised to support trade creation in the least developed and developing countries and the USTR office revises the list every 10 years. The US is revising the GSP this year.
Official at MoCS said that of the 11 items that Nepal is pushing USTR to include in the GSP list, 10 are garment products and one is pashmina item. Going by the US system, USTR office holds hearings on the petition and takes decision, considering the cost and benefit to it as well as developing countries.
Earlier, Garment Association of Nepal (GAN) too had lodged a petition to this connection at the USTR. Its petition, however, had only 10 items, including eight garment and two pashmina items. It had also requested the MoCS to second its petition at the USTR.
The garment items listed in the petition include commodities like gents and ladies pants, shirts and shorts, among others. As for the pashmina item, it includes the regular pashimna lines like shawl and muffler.
If the US fulfilled the request, exporters believe it will at least give Nepali garment industry fresh hope.
“Our calculation is, the facility will instantly help us double our exports to the US, bring back the shut machines to life, encourage new investment and help create new employment opportunities,” said Uday Raj Pandey, vice president of GAN.
Readymade garment industry, which once earned largest export income for the country and employed some 100,000 people, has been on a nosedive over the last eight years.
While international reasons like US duty-free facility pledged to its Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa competitors and end of quota regime in apparels trading initiated the downturn, internal factors like frequent labor strikes, political strikes and lack of efforts to modernize and upscale the industry triggered the downfall.
As a result, garment export to the US has hit rock bottom and only a handful of entrepreneurs are currently involved in the business.
But Pandey argued that Nepal is still one of the cheapest manufacturing hubs and buyers are still placing enquiries for the upcoming Christmas supplies.
“There is still enough room for the industry to revive. If US addressed our concerns, it will kick-start the revival process,” he said.
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