Do foreigners exploit us? Whenever there is talk of opening Nepal’s market, whether it be for trade or investment, there is always the fear – sometimes spoken sometimes unspoken, but never rational – of exploitation by foreigners. In India, this fear, though equally irrational, was understandable since the British ruled it for 200 years, but in Nepal this fear is unfounded. After the end of colonialism in most countries by 1950s, there has not been a single case of a former colonial power usurping power by either taking over an old colony, or finding itself a new one. Exploitation is possible only if one country takes over another one and enslaves its people. Exploitation is not possible when people trade with each other, buy and sell property, or make investments with mutual consent. Consider a foreigner coming to Nepal to buy goods, how is he going to do it if no one sells to him? We will sell only if we are better-off by selling to him then by not doing so. Similar is the case if a foreign company sells to us. There is no application of force, no one can compel us to buy if we don’t want to. How then does the question of exploitation arise? In fact, the very principle of trade rests on the assumption that both parties gain, otherwise trade just does not take place. Try selling a product to your neighbour, he will buy and you will sell only if both of you feel that you will be in a superior position after the trade than you were before it. The same principle applies when you buy vegetables from a street vendor. You would rather have his vegetables than your money, and he would rather have your money than his vegetables. Both he and you gain. Can there be any doubt about it? This principle does not change when it comes to international trade. People in both trading countries are better-off and that is why trade is good. And that is why policies which promote trade affect the people and the economic growth of a country positively. And that is why policies which hinder trade are bad. And that is why most economists and I advocate lifting of all barriers to trade including but not limited to tariffs, quotas, import and export controls, licensing, and foreign exchange regulations. What about foreigners coming in and establishing businesses and buying land, property, and other assets in Nepal? We must understand that foreigners can have no dealings and buy nothing without someone who is willing to deal with them or sell to them. It, therefore, stands to reason that these transactions too are of a nature similar to what has been earlier detailed in respect to trade, in-so-far as the free consent of all dealing parties is required. Problems arise only if we consider our own countrymen foolish and naïve subject to be exploited by cunning, all knowing foreigners. Not so. Not so at all. Do not Nepalis, when they go abroad, thrive? Nepalis do well when they are in the US, UK, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Korea. In fact the only place where they do not do well is right over here in Nepal. If Nepalis can prosper in other lands where they are surrounded by foreigners, why does anyone think that foreigners can come here to an alien land, to a different culture, and deal with people who look different, speak a different language, and still be able to exploit them. If any exploitation, cheating or mistakes are to be made, chances are overwhelmingly against the foreigners who comes here. Odds are stacked against them. They are going to pay higher prices in all their buying activities, otherwise we locals will find no advantage in dealing with them and would end up trading amongst ourselves only. It is time to shed our paranoia of foreigners. It is time to open our markets for trade, investment, and tourism. It is time to globalise and be freed from restrictions in our dealings with people of other nations. (The writer can be contacted at: everest@mos.com.np)