Nepal

Officials from Nepal and the United States meet regularly at the highest diplomatic levels to discuss a variety of issues including: assistance provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the largest bilateral donor in Nepal; Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) coordination and implementation; trade (including technical assistance); security and defense cooperation; and humanitarian assistance and disaster response.

The United States and Nepal have signed a trade and investment framework agreement, providing a forum for bilateral talks to enhance trade and investment, discuss specific trade issues, and promote more comprehensive trade agreements between the two countries. In 2016, Nepal became one of few countries in the world with a single-country trade preference program with the United States. Principal U.S. exports to Nepal include some agricultural products, aircraft parts, optical and medical instruments and machinery. In 2021, U.S. exports also included significant amounts of vaccines, face masks, and also coal. U.S. imports from Nepal include carpets, felt products, dog food, handicrafts, jewelry and various apparels. Total bilateral trade is in the range of $300 million annually, making the U.S. among the top half dozen trade partners of Nepal. With $52.4 million worth of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stock in Nepal as of July 2020 (3.1 percent of total FDI), the U.S. is among the top 10 foreign investors in Nepal. The U.S. Embassy aims to support Nepal’s economic development by providing technical assistance (TA) where possible, including through specialized USG agencies such as the USPTO and USTDA. The Embassy is also supporting the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) increase its portfolio of investments in Nepal.