Nepal hopeful of WTO entry at Mexico meet
AFP, Kathmandu
Nepal is hopeful it will be admitted into the WTO at its September conference in Mexico but developed countries have insisted it first commit to liberalizing its economy, officials said Monday. The landlocked kingdom made a presentation last month in Geneva on membership in the World Trade Organization ahead of the September 10-14 ministerial conference in Cancun. "Of the 146 members of the trade bloc, the majority had a soft spot for letting Nepal, along with Cambodia, enter the trade bloc," Prachand Man Shrestha, a senior official at Nepal's commerce and industry ministry, told AFP. However, trade officials here said six developed countries -- the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and one member of the European Union -- along with Nepal's biggest trade partner India insisted the kingdom work to liberalize its economy. In particular, the countries wanted a commitment that Nepal would not hike custom duties and would guarantee other liberal trade policies, they said. Nepal contended, however, there should not be a "complete bar" on increases in duties considering the kingdom's weak industrial sector. Nepal, which began the accession process to the WTO in 1999, argues that it must join the global trade bloc because its two neighbors, India and China, are both members.
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