Eu duty waiver: Pakistan edges closer: diplomat

GENEVA: Pakistani textile makers edged closer on Thursday to boosting exports to Europe after one of its opponents withdrew its objections, the country’s ambassador said on Thursday. But India, whose exporters compete with Pakistan for a share of the world’s largest market, still opposed an EU proposal to suspend duties temporarily on certain Pakistani goods to help the country recover from last summer’s devastating floods. “Vietnam has approved the EU duty waiver today. We are one step closer,” said Pakistan’s ambassador to the World Trade Organization Shahid Bashir. An original EU plan unveiled last October said duty suspensions — if approved unanimously by the WTO — would affect about 900 million euros ($1.27 billion) worth of Pakistani exports to the EU and estimated Pakistan could boost sales to the EU by 100 million euros.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 27^th, 2011.