The plenary of the European Union (EU) parliament on Friday cleared the Autonomous Trade Concessions for Pakistan.
The only hurdle now remains is the World Trade Organisation (WTO) waiver, said an official statement issued on Friday. But the passage of the proposal by the EU parliament is a good development for Pakistan.
EU remains hopeful about getting the waiver approved by WTO. The European Council in its meeting on September 16, 2010 had decided to grant Pakistan special concessions to support its economy in the wake of devastation caused by unprecedented floods. Following the decision, EU announced duty-free access for Pakistan’s 75 tariff lines subject to WTO waiver. The total worth of exports of these tariff lines is $1.03 billion and the average tariff on these products is around 8.86 per cent. Pakistan’s global exports of these products are worth $3.8 billion.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 14th, 2011.
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