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Kathmandu,Tuesday January 18, 2000 Magh 4th, 2056.
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Govt to monitor textile
export
-By Bhaskar Sharma
KATHMANDU, Jan 17 - The openly exported
textile products of the country to the European Union (EU) will come under government
monitoring from February 1, 2000.
This is being done in accordance with the
initial agreement reached between Nepal and the EU on March 26, 1999, which will be
provisionally implemented from February 1, 2000, said Director General of Department of
Commerce (DC) Krishna Hari Baskota, while talking to The Kathmandu Post.
According to the agreement, exporters have
to get Certificate of Origin (CO) of all textile items, exported to EU, endorsed by a
competent government official, which had till now been done by the local chambers of
commerce.
The DC has been entrusted with the
responsibility of endorsing the CO, which is forwarded by the Garment Association of Nepal
(GAN) to DC through the local Chambers of Commerce.
The agreement also requires entrepreneurs
to obtain license for the export of textile products falling in five, of total 161
categories, as categorized by the EU, for the purpose of dual checking of the goods
exported from Nepal.
The five categories, numbered 4, 5, 6, 7
and 26, include the major exporting textile items, such as shirts, T-shirts, light weight
fine knit roll, jerseys, woven breeches, shorts other than swimwear and trousers, blouses,
jumpers and pullovers made of wool, cotton or man made fibres among others.
The DC issues the license to the exporter
on producing the order of goods or the receipt of advance payment made by the European
importer to the Nepali exporter or if there exists a back-to-back or buy-back arrangement.
Joint Secretary at the Ministry of
Commerce, Leela Mani Poudyal said, “The issuance of license is to meet the EU’s
requirement for double checking the goods imported by them as EU importer too needs to get
import authorization under this arrangement.”
EU had initially demanded to initiate
license system for 15 categories, which Nepal bargained down to 5. India and China are
also manufacturing the textile items falling under these categories, which they export to
the European market under the quota system. The transshipment of Indian and Chinese goods
through Nepal must have prompted the EU to pressurize Nepal entering into this Agreement
on Trade in Textile Products.
The agreement has also been reached to
manage exports efficiently and promote Nepali entrepreneurs by controlling transshipments
of the textile products from neighbouring countries.
Baskota said, “This agreement will
control transshipment and systematize Nepali garments export. Moreover, it will give a
major impetus to the Nepali entrepreneurs.”
“The agreement will also help in
enhancing the quality of textile products being exported from the country,” he added.
President of GAN, Brij Gopal Innani said,
“The garment export to the EU has declining trend. This agreement is reached for the
satisfaction of EU and to promote Nepali entrepreneurs through the maximum utilization of
the duty free market access.”
The agreement comes as a result of the
unfulfillment of the import criteria set in 1996, which was laid by the EU. EU alleged of
transshipment and unsatisfactory documentary procedures, thus not confirming the
originality of the goods being exported from Nepal.
The Trade in Textile Products Agreement, to
be implemented till December 31, 2002, has a provision of further extension with the
required amendments. This is the first time in eight years that a government office has
been entrusted with the responsibility of issuing license to exporters. There was a
license system for the import/export of various items before 1992.
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