On August 31st, China and Nicaragua formally signed the Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua (referred to as China-Nicaragua FTA).
The China-Nicaragua FTA is the 21st FTA signed by China, and Nicaragua is China's 28th FTA partner and China's 5th FTA partner in Latin America after Chile-Peru-Costa Rica-Ecuador.
The head of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce said that China and Nepal have strong economic complementarities and huge potential for trade and investment cooperation. In 2022, the bilateral trade volume between China and Nicaragua reaches 760 million dollars. China is Nicaragua's second largest trading partner and second largest source of imports. Nicaragua is an important economic and trade partner of China in Central America and an important partner in the construction of the "Belt and Road
The two countries signed the Early Harvest Arrangement (EHA) of the China-Nepal FTA in July 2022 and started comprehensive FTA negotiations. Through the close cooperation and joint efforts of the negotiating teams of both sides, the negotiations were finalized in just one year.
The China-Nepal FTA covers trade in goods cross-border trade in services and investment, rules and other areas, including the preamble and 22 chapters, as well as tariff commitment table import and export restrictions on tariff quotas product-specific rules of origin, certificates of origin, cross-border trade in services and investment in the Negative List\financial services Negative List of financial services cross-border trade in commercial personnel temporary entry commitment table and arbitration program rules and other 15 annexes.
The final zero tariff products of both China and Nicaragua account for more than 95% of the overall tariff lines. Among them, the proportion of immediate zero-tariff products in the overall tariff lines of both sides is about 60%. The main zero-tariff products will include Chinese-made automobiles (including new energy vehicles)\motorcycles\batteries, photovoltaic modules, etc., as well as Nicaraguan-produced beef, shrimp, coffee, cocoa, etc.
The China-Nepal FTA is conducive to the continued release of the dividends of the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries and will create a better business environment for enterprises of the two countries.
