The TIFA Council is a bilateral mechanism formed according to the TIFA framework agreement comprising representatives of each signatory. Nepal and the US held the sixth TIFA Council meeting on May 19 in Kathmandu.
A senior MoICS official said that the issue of developing protocols didn’t emerge as a big issue during the meeting. “Signing the protocol of the TIFA is an important step in materializing the framework agreement,” he said. According to the former MoICS official, either party of the trade deal can initiate the process by drafting the protocol document and sharing it with each other. “Nepal itself can draft a protocol and share it with the US which will invite discussions on the matter in the upcoming meetings,” the former official said. The MoICS official also affirmed the suggestion saying that the draft of the protocols for TIFA could be prepared this way. During the latest TIFA Council meeting, Nepal shared its concern about the underutilization of the Nepal Trade Preference Program (NTPP), a duty-free regime for certain types of readymade garments (RMGs) and other exports of Nepal to the US market. According to the joint statement issued after the meeting, Nepal also expressed its interest in expanding the list of products eligible to receive tariff-free treatment under the program. The program which was endorsed by the US Congress and signed by then US President Barack Obama in 2016, is expiring on 31 Dec 2025. “Both governments affirmed the importance of the NTPP to the bilateral relationship and acknowledged the potential of the program to enhance trade between the two countries,” reads the joint statement. Nepal has not been able to take benefit from the US program as Nepali garment exporters say that most of the 77 goods on which duty-free access is available are not produced in Nepal. “There is no duty-free access to the US market for types of RMGs that we produce such as shirts, pants, and ladies' dresses which are also known as fast-moving garment items,” Pashupati Dev Pandey, President of Garment Association of Nepal told Annapurna Express in a recent interview. During the meeting, both countries discussed ways to increase dialogue on bilateral agricultural trade issues. “The United States also suggested that Nepal join the Agriculture Innovation Mission (AIM) for Climate, a program that increases investment in agricultural innovation for climate-smart agriculture and food systems,” the joint statement says. Government officials and experts say that TIFA protocols could help facilitate the timely implementation of trade and investment promotion-related measures taken by each side. During the sixth meeting of the TIFA Council, Nepal provided an update on recent efforts and initiatives taken to improve its trade and investment climate and reinforced its desire to attract additional foreign investment from the US. The council has been authorized to determine opportunities for expanding trade and investment, consider specific trade and investment matters of interest to the parties, consider capacity building, consider trade facilitation measures, identity and work to remove barriers impending trade and investments, and seek the advice of stakeholders on matters to the council’s works. “The protocols will provide specific procedures to address issues identified by the council,” the former MoICS official said.
