Nepal-China Beijing hands Nepal list of 188 products it wants to import, ignoring Kathmandu's list
Kathmandu: Showing yet another point of contention between Kathmandu and Beijing, despite receiving repeated assurance from the Chinese authorities, Nepali goods have been facing hurdles when it comes to exporting them to China via land routes for the past few years, media reports said.
In addition, China has not paid any heed to revise the Nepali products under its duty-free pledge despite repeated requests made by its landlocked neighbour, reports My Republica.
China has been providing duty-free, quota-free market access to 8,030 Nepali goods. They include cooking utensils, outfits, footwear, toothpaste and brush, beauty products and toiletry, printing paper, buttons made of animal bone, animal products, medicinal oil and products, pen, daily goods made of feather and plastic products, among others, reported the news portal.
However, Nepal did not benefit from the offer made to the Himalayan nation by China.
Nepal has long been requesting China to allow the export of 512 specified goods under the duty-free, quota-free provision, reports the news portal.
Rabi Shankar Sainju, former joint-secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS), told the news portal Nepal has long been requesting the northern neighbour to allow access to new products listed under the six-digit HS code that incorporates the Nepali goods with high comparative advantage.
The bilateral talks that were held on last Tuesday also ended up with similar assurances, one of which includes hassles-free movement of traded goods through the Tatopani-Khasa and Rasuwagadhi-Kerung entry points, the news portal reported.
In addition, the Chinese side consented to another list of 188 Nepali goods as the main tradable goods of Nepal to China, on the condition that these goods have labeling in the Chinese language which Nepali traders say is not feasible, My Republica reported.
“However, these products will not be receiving the duty-free access,” an official of the MoICS told Republica on condition of anonymity.
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