weighted score 4.7 · nine dimensions
Country Risk Profile
Nepal
Sourcing risk, regulatory exposure and audit intelligence for Nepal-origin supply chains.
Forced & child labour
5
TVPRA listings for bricks, carpets, textiles, and stones. Bonded labour residues in agriculture and brick kilns. GoodWeave provides credible carpet certification.
Worker rights & FOA
5
ILO core conventions ratified. Trade unions legally permitted but enforcement is weak. Informal sector dominates — formal labour protections reach a minority of workers.
OHS & audit transparency
5
Occupational health and safety regulation exists but enforcement is limited outside major urban centres. Third-party audit infrastructure is thin.
Food & product safety
4
Limited domestic food safety regulatory capacity. Export-oriented sectors (tea, spices) rely on buyer-specified standards and third-party certification.
Environmental & regulatory
3
Low industrial base limits environmental impact. Brick kilns are the primary pollution concern. No EUDR-regulated commodity exports at significant scale.
Governance & anti-corruption
7
TI CPI 34/100. Frequent government changes create policy uncertainty. Regulatory capture and weak enforcement capacity across institutions.
Tariff & preferential access
2
EU EBA duty-free, quota-free access for all products except arms. Significant tariff advantage for garment and textile exports to the EU.
Non-tariff barriers
5
Landlocked transit through India creates effective non-tariff barriers. Border delays and documentation requirements add compliance cost.
Supply chain traceability
6
GoodWeave provides strong traceability for carpet supply chains. Beyond carpets, traceability infrastructure is limited. Multi-tier visibility is difficult.
Labour & Social Risk
Labour & Social Risk
- TVPRA listings
- US Department of Labor TVPRA list includes Nepal for bricks, carpets, textiles, and stones — all produced with child or forced labour indicators.
- Carpet sector
- Nepal's hand-knotted carpet industry has a documented history of child labour. GoodWeave certification provides a credible third-party monitoring framework specifically for Nepali carpet production.
- Bonded labour
- Kamaiya and Haliya bonded labour systems were formally abolished but residual practices persist in agriculture and brick kilns. Enforcement capacity is limited outside Kathmandu Valley.
Governance & Trade Access
Governance & Trade Access
- Corruption perception
- TI CPI score of 34/100 — indicating high perceived corruption. Governance score of 7 on this index reflects weak institutional capacity and regulatory enforcement.
- EU trade preferences
- Nepal benefits from EU EBA (Everything But Arms) preferences — duty-free, quota-free access. Tariff dimension scored at 2, reflecting this preferential access.
- Regulatory capacity
- Labour inspection and environmental enforcement capacity is limited. Factory-level compliance depends heavily on buyer-driven audit programmes rather than domestic regulatory oversight.