Nepal will raise the development issues
of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) seriously in the global trade regime's
meeting, said commerce and supplies minister Shankar Prasad Koirala before
flying to Bali to take part in the ninth Ministerial Conference of
World Trade Organisation (WTO) scheduled for December 3-6.
Nepal is the
chair of the LDCs.
As the chair
Nepal will raise three key issues – agriculture, trade facilitation and
development of LDCs – in the meeting, he said, adding that Nepal will highlight
the issues of duty-free quota-free market access, preferential rules of origin,
and implementation of services waiver. "Likewise, the implantation of the
past decision of developed nation to provide atleast 97 per cent – and maximum
cent per cent – concession in the context of the duty-free quota-free is
significant for the LDCs."
Likewise,
various developed countries that import goods from LDCs have their own
standards and criteria for Rules of Origin. "Nepal will lobby for a
uniform and harmonised Rules of Origin for
LDCs," he added.
The LDC
group has drafted a new Rules of Origin formula.
The eighth WTO
Ministerial Conference in Geneva on December 2011 had decided on various issues
including adoption of waiver to provide preferential treatment to services and
services suppliers of LDC members, and Nepal will look into these issues and
their implementation status.
Nepal became
the 147th member of global trade reime in 2004.
However, there are 159
members in the WTO.
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