Nepal, China ink zero tariff deal

PTI

Nepal and China have inked a landmark agreement that will allow duty free access to 350 Nepali goods in Chinese market.

Nepalese Commerce Secretary Purushottam Ojha and Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Qiu Guohong signed the agreement on behalf of their respective governments, officials said on Saturday.

As per the agreement, China will provide duty free access to 4,721 items of Least Developed Countries including 350 produced in Nepal.

Majority of these items are agro-products such as apple, mushroom, orange, ginger, tomato, onion, strawberry grapes and honey.

This is a welcome step and it will help Nepal greatly to reduce the trade deficit, said leading industrialist Binod Chaudhari, who is also president of Nepal Confederation of Industries.

Nepal’s trade with China currently stands at $500 million and Nepal suffers a trade deficit of around $444 million.