Daily Times

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood has said that Pakistan will have to send a fresh application to the European Union (EU) for the renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status.

Pakistan will have to file a fresh application for the new scheme like other beneficiary countries of the GSP scheme, Dawood added while talking to Arab News. He said that Pakistani products have duty free access in all 27 member states of the European Union since January 1, 2014 until December 31, 2023. He said that the EU periodically reviews the commitment of all beneficiary nations with GSP+ status to the signed international conventions.

Dawood said all nations, including Pakistan, would be required to ratify and implement five new international conventions, in addition to the previous 27 international covenants, to benefit from a new program to be adopted by the EU from 2024 to 2036.

Earlier last month, European Union Ambassador to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara said that Islamabad would have to redouble its efforts to meet international rights conventions in order to continue to get trade concessions beyond 2023. The EU office in Islamabad said in a statement Pakistan is the largest beneficiary of the current GSP+ programme but the European Commission is continuously monitoring progress made by beneficiary nations like Pakistan in implementing international conventions. “In the last monitoring reports, some progress has been positively highlighted, while concerns have been raised regarding child labour, torture, media freedom and access to justice, among others,” the statement maintained.

The GSP+ is a special trade arrangement offered to developing economies by European nations in return for their commitment to implement 27 international conventions on human rights, environmental protection and governance. Institutionalised in 1971, the framework removes or reduces import duties on products exported to Europe from low-income countries. Pakistan is part of a current GSP+ scheme set to end in December 2023.