KATHMANDU, Oct 28: Although Nepal is heading for graduation from its status of least developed country (LDC) in 2026, the country can still benefit from the duty-free and quota-free access to the European Union (EU) market till 2029.
Nepal currently benefits from the Everything But Arms (EBA) arrangement of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), which allows for duty-free and quota-free entry of Nepali products in the EU market. Following LDC graduation in 2026, Nepal will be able to benefit from Standard GSP and GSP+ arrangements until 2029 as the EBA will continue to apply for a three-year transition period, said the sector’s experts in a four-day workshop that kicked off in Lalitpur on Sunday.
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The training workshop is being organized by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS) under the framework of the EU-funded Trade and Investment Programme, in partnership with the Trade and Export Promotion Centre. Through the workshop, the government has intended to enhance export to the EU using the EBA scheme and raise awareness of the business community on the implications of LDC graduation on preferential trading schemes of the EU.
It is expected to familiarize stakeholders of the trade sector with key regulations and procedures to export to the EU by better utilizing the GSP arrangements. The International Trade Centre (ITC) has also developed a series of business guides on exporting to the EU with detailed export requirements for five sectors with high export potential: medicinal and aromatic plants, textile fibers and garments, coffee, metal crafts, and felt products. “This training will be helpful to get insights into the domestic and EU-related regulations and procedures for Nepali exporters and enable them to take advantage of the trade preferences offered by the EU market currently and in the future once the country graduates from LDC status,” said Qasim Chaudry, a trade expert from the ITC.
Speaking on the occasion, Rajendra Singh, deputy director of the Trade and Export Promotion Centre, expressed the view that traders will benefit from this event while broadening their knowledge of EBA, GSP, and GSP+ and the opportunities they offer to Nepal’s exporters.
The workshop brings together 55 trade sector stakeholders including representatives from government agencies, business support organizations, sector associations, academia and exporters (including small and medium enterprises) to train them on exporting to the EU market and develop master trainers within government and private sector organizations to replicate the training in future.
