New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) Pakistan’s continuation under the European Union’s preferential trade scheme GSP+ from 2029 is “not certain or guaranteed” and will hinge on the country’s implementation of United Nations human‑rights conventions, according to the EU Ambassador to Pakistan, Raimundas Karoblis, a new report has said.
The decision would be based on assessments by UN monitoring bodies and stressed that legal ratification alone would not be enough but on ground implementation, according to the report in voicepk.net.
He also highlighted that there were 27 conventions now, and the new system will hold 32 conventions.
The Pakistan government must present an action plan with concrete measures for implementing or improving the implementation of the United Nations conventions.
“It will also need concrete timeframes and concrete performance indicators. So, indeed, implementation is really important,” he added.
Pakistan has enjoyed from preferential access to the EU market with its GSP+ status since 2014. In compliance with the GSP Regulation, Pakistan has ratified all 27 core international conventions on human rights, labour standards, environmental protection, and good governance.
The country ranked as the largest beneficiary among all GSP+ countries in terms of imports.
Under the existing GSP+ scheme, Pakistan benefits from tariff exemptions estimated at around 732 million euros, with the textile sector among the major beneficiaries.
Though the ambassador noted some advancements in implementing UN convention during the last two years, he maintained that some elements of human rights regressed.
“The main areas of concern are enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, freedom of expression, the rights of journalists, and minority rights,” he said.
However, the ambassador also specified that Pakistan’s failure to reapply for GSP+, successfully meeting the conditions would revert the country to an ordinary GSP member which have some preferential trade treatment.
“Under ordinary GSP, tariffs would remain approximately 30 per cent lower than conventional tariffs applied to countries such as China and the United States, although they would be higher than under GSP+,” the report noted.
—IANS
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