'TIFA Meeting' between the US and Nepal is scheduled for Monday.

This is scheduled to be the seventh meeting of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council between the United States and Nepal. The secretary-level meeting is slated to take place in Kathmandu on September 16.

Madhusudan Burlakoti, Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, will lead the Nepali side of the conference, while a representative from the US Trade Representative will co-chair the US side. The seventh TIFA meeting will now be held in Kathmandu instead of Washington, DC, as originally scheduled.

This is scheduled to be the seventh meeting of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council between the United States and Nepal. The secretary-level meeting is slated to take place in Kathmandu on September 16.

Madhusudan Burlakoti, Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, will lead the Nepali side of the conference, while a representative from the US Trade Representative will co-chair the US side. The seventh TIFA meeting will now be held in Kathmandu instead of Washington, DC, as originally scheduled.

The United States has been offering zero-duty incentives on the export of 77 commodities from Nepal under the Nepal Trade Preference Program (NTPP). Discussions from the sixth council meeting about the prospects for Nepal's exports of IT services as well as the continuation of this advantage will be covered.

The agenda topics that Nepal will present at the seventh Nepal-USA TIFA Council meeting were approved at the Cabinet meeting on September 5, along with the formation of a negotiation team.

As per an insider, Nepal is expected to bring up three primary concerns. The extension of the NTPP program's benefits is a top priority because the existing zero-duty benefit on 77 commodities from Nepal is scheduled to expire in December 2025.

For 77 products, there is now no customs duty. There will also be talks about adding more possible exports from Nepal to the list of goods that qualify for duty-free treatment.

"There will be discussions on which items available in the Nepali market are eligible for export to the US," according to a source.

According to the source, talks on getting technical support from the US will be the third major item on the agenda.

The sixth meeting of the TIFA Council took place in May 2023, which was fifteen months ago. Brendan Lynch, the US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, and Madhu Kumar Marasini, the then-secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, co-chaired the conference.

How Nepal could export IT services to the US was discussed last year. For now, the conversation will center on the advantages of exporting these IT and other services.

The delegation covered a wide range of bilateral trade and investment-related topics under TIFA during the meeting. These topics included, but weren't limited to, policies affecting the investment climate, the digital economy, the protection and enforcement of intellectual property, trade facilitation and customs, agricultural trade, market access, technological trade barriers, Nepal's transition from LDC status, labor rights, and the use of the Nepal Trade Preference Program.

How Nepal could export IT services to the US was discussed last year. For now, the conversation will center on the advantages of exporting these IT and other services.

The delegation covered a wide range of bilateral trade and investment-related topics under TIFA during the meeting. These topics included, but weren't limited to, policies affecting the investment climate, the digital economy, the protection and enforcement of intellectual property, trade facilitation and customs, agricultural trade, market access, technological trade barriers, Nepal's transition from LDC status, labor rights, and the use of the Nepal Trade Preference Program.

In addition to reiterating its goal to draw more foreign investment from the US, Nepal gave an update on recent measures and initiatives done to enhance its trade and investment climate. The United States encouraged Nepal to keep up these attempts to improve their business climate, noting that it valued the country's efforts and initiatives to change its trade and investment regimes. The United States presented policy changes that might further improve Nepal's business environment while also acknowledging the importance of investment in fostering economic development.

In an effort to boost Nepali exports, the US implemented a policy in 2015 in the wake of the disaster, imposing zero duty on the export of 77 commodities from Nepal. This benefit will run out in less than 1.5 years.

A few years back, Nepal sent $200 million worth of commodities to the US. Nevertheless, this amount had dropped to $150 million by 2022. According to business owners, the overall commerce decreased as a result of a decrease in the export of ready-made clothing, even if exports of carpets and pashmina climbed.

After India, the United States is Nepal's second-biggest export market. Nepal has not been able to fully benefit from the US's provision of customs duty exemptions on a large number of exports.

Since 2021, the US has stopped the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). Restoring it, according to the private sector, would help Nepal promote its exports.