It is not a given that Nepal will benefit from low US tariffs

When it comes to cognitive capital, like the one needed to sustain the digital trade and IT service exports, we can capitalise on the absence of transit.

Nepal’s trade deficit has been widening in recent years, with remittance-backed consumption dictating an increase in imports. While the growth in exports of niche products such as handmade garments, carpets and dogchew have grown and the country seems to have gotten favourable US tariffs compared to our neighbours, exporters still seem to struggle to gain foreign markets for their products. In a conversation with the Post ’s Biken K Dawadi, economist Astha Bhatta, Program Specialist (Economics) at the Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS), discusses Nepali trade and a host of related issues.