Trade Policy Reforms for the Twenty First Century : The Case of Nepal

This report examines how Nepal could move away from a remittance-driven growth model by reforming its trade policies to increase competitiveness. It looks at the extent to which Nepal has been tapping into its trade potentials, the underlying obsta...

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Main Authors: Narain, Ashish, Varela, Gonzalo
Format: Policy Note
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/656801513235860109/Trade-policy-reforms-for-the-twenty-first-century-the-case-of-Nepal
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29058
id okr-10986-29058
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-290582021-09-11T05:10:38Z Trade Policy Reforms for the Twenty First Century : The Case of Nepal Narain, Ashish Varela, Gonzalo TRADE BUSINESS AGREEMENT GOVERNANCE IMPACT OPENNESS INSTITUTIONS TRADE POLICY PREFERENTIAL TARIFFS COMPLEMENTARITIES EXPORT COMPETITIVENESS GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES GSP TRADE INTEGRATION IMPORT TARIFFS This report examines how Nepal could move away from a remittance-driven growth model by reforming its trade policies to increase competitiveness. It looks at the extent to which Nepal has been tapping into its trade potentials, the underlying obstacles that it faces, and the type of reforms that could turn trade and investment into a vehicle for growth. Five key messages emerge. First, Nepalese exporters remain small and struggle with increase their shipments once they enter a new market, rather than with the fixed cost associated with entering. This is due to severe supply-side constraints that affect their trade and production costs. Second, Nepalese firms underutilize existing trade agreements and granted trade preferences. Third, diversification opportunities lie in fast-growing economies in East Asia and the Pacific. Efforts regarding connectivity, trade facilitation and export intelligence could help firms get to those markets. Fourth, to reduce the anti-export bias of its trade policy, Nepal needs to simplify its tariff code, reduce tariffs on intermediates, and embrace deeper integration, starting with more openness to services and investment. Fifth, trade reforms in Nepal are welfare enhancing and, on average, pro-poor. 2017-12-19T23:02:55Z 2017-12-19T23:02:55Z 2017 Policy Note http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/656801513235860109/Trade-policy-reforms-for-the-twenty-first-century-the-case-of-Nepal http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29058 English CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Economic & Sector Work :: Policy Notes Economic & Sector Work South Asia Nepal
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic TRADE
BUSINESS
AGREEMENT
GOVERNANCE
IMPACT
OPENNESS
INSTITUTIONS
TRADE POLICY
PREFERENTIAL TARIFFS
COMPLEMENTARITIES
EXPORT COMPETITIVENESS
GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES
GSP
TRADE INTEGRATION
IMPORT TARIFFS
spellingShingle TRADE
BUSINESS
AGREEMENT
GOVERNANCE
IMPACT
OPENNESS
INSTITUTIONS
TRADE POLICY
PREFERENTIAL TARIFFS
COMPLEMENTARITIES
EXPORT COMPETITIVENESS
GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES
GSP
TRADE INTEGRATION
IMPORT TARIFFS
Narain, Ashish
Varela, Gonzalo
Trade Policy Reforms for the Twenty First Century : The Case of Nepal
geographic_facet South Asia
Nepal
description This report examines how Nepal could move away from a remittance-driven growth model by reforming its trade policies to increase competitiveness. It looks at the extent to which Nepal has been tapping into its trade potentials, the underlying obstacles that it faces, and the type of reforms that could turn trade and investment into a vehicle for growth. Five key messages emerge. First, Nepalese exporters remain small and struggle with increase their shipments once they enter a new market, rather than with the fixed cost associated with entering. This is due to severe supply-side constraints that affect their trade and production costs. Second, Nepalese firms underutilize existing trade agreements and granted trade preferences. Third, diversification opportunities lie in fast-growing economies in East Asia and the Pacific. Efforts regarding connectivity, trade facilitation and export intelligence could help firms get to those markets. Fourth, to reduce the anti-export bias of its trade policy, Nepal needs to simplify its tariff code, reduce tariffs on intermediates, and embrace deeper integration, starting with more openness to services and investment. Fifth, trade reforms in Nepal are welfare enhancing and, on average, pro-poor.
format Policy Note
author Narain, Ashish
Varela, Gonzalo
author_facet Narain, Ashish
Varela, Gonzalo
author_sort Narain, Ashish
title Trade Policy Reforms for the Twenty First Century : The Case of Nepal
title_short Trade Policy Reforms for the Twenty First Century : The Case of Nepal
title_full Trade Policy Reforms for the Twenty First Century : The Case of Nepal
title_fullStr Trade Policy Reforms for the Twenty First Century : The Case of Nepal
title_full_unstemmed Trade Policy Reforms for the Twenty First Century : The Case of Nepal
title_sort trade policy reforms for the twenty first century : the case of nepal
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2017
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/656801513235860109/Trade-policy-reforms-for-the-twenty-first-century-the-case-of-Nepal
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29058
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