European Union (EU) Ambassador to Pakistan Raimundas Karoblis on Wednesday said that the country needed to “do more” in terms of fulfilling its commitments under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status ahead of a review.
The status was granted by the EU in 2014, resulting in a 108 per cent increase in Pakistani textile exports to the EU due to concessional tariffs.
In October 2023, the European Parliament unanimously voted to extend the GSP+ status for another four years until 2027 for developing countries, including Pakistan.
The upcoming GSP+ monitoring mission will scrutinise Pakistan’s record on 27 international conventions tied to the trade scheme. Maintaining GSP+ status is critical for Pakistan to keep export costs low.
What is GSP+ status?
According to the EU, GSP+ status is a special incentive awarded to developing countries to “pursue sustainable development and good governance” in exchange for cutting import duties to zero on two-thirds of the tariff lines of its exports.
Governments with this status need to implement 27 international conventions on human rights, labour rights, good governance and the environment.
This means that Pakistan, in exchange for implementing the 27 conventions, can enjoy duty-free or minimum duty on European exports, which include apparel, home textiles and surgical instruments, according to a 2022 report by the commerce ministry.
Export earnings from the EU rose to $3.17 billion in July-October, up from $3bn over the corresponding months of last year, according to figures compiled and released by the State Bank of Pakistan on Monday.
The EU will monitor a country granted GSP+ status to make sure it continues to be a party to the international conventions and implements them effectively. It also has to comply with reporting requirements and accept regular monitoring in accordance with the conventions.
The country in question and the EU will maintain frequent dialogue and have meetings on the implementation of the 27 conventions, with a public report submitted to Brussels for review every two years.
Has Pakistan implemented these conventions?
In an interview on DawnNewsTV show ‘Doosra Rukh’ today, Ambassador Karoblis was asked about whether Pakistan needed to do more to fulfil the requirements of the scheme, to which he said: “Yes, we are saying that. We are saying that it should be, well, needs to be, to do more.”
He said it would be a periodic monitoring mission that would assess the implementation of all necessary United Nations conventions for the scheme’s application.
“There are human rights, labour rights, environmental issues as well, and good governance. Quite a lot of meetings will be with state institutions, but also with civil society organisations, with human rights defenders, but also with the companies and actually with people who are working in the companies.”
