Liberty Discussion on ‘Free Trade’

Liberty Discussion for the month of December was held on December 30th, 2022 at Samriddhi Foundation. The article for discussion for this month was “Free Trade” by Alan S. Blinder. Participants were keen to acknowledge the importance of free trade in Nepal, when the government recently uplifted the import restrictions imposed for the last 8 months in the country. The discussion revolved around the topic of how the import ban was not helpful in increasing the foreign currency reserves of the country. Similarly, participants also discussed the prevalent informal mechanisms of importing goods in the country at a time when strict regulations are placed while importing through a formal channel. Near the end of discussion, the participants talked about possible measures that Nepal could take to increase the foreign currency reserves of the country without having to impose a second import restriction.