Trading with EU
Pakistan, a major trading partner with the European Union, has got a pat as it was recognised as one of the best producers of quality products. EU Ambassador to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara – while deliberating over the possible extension of GSP-Plus status for 2024 and beyond, during a recent event in Lahore – expressed the hope that new products and joint ventures can play a vital role in years to come. The EU currently is seized with reviewing Pakistan’s performance on exports. The EU accounts for about 14% of total world trade; and 31% of Pakistan’s produce find a safe berth in Europe.
It is a good omen that Pakistan’s exports to the EU had increased by around 60 per cent, to the tune of 5.5 billion euros in 2020, owing to the preferential status enjoyed by the country under the GSP-Plus status for the last seven years. The trade development policy is a bonanza of sorts as it comes with a zero per cent duty on several products. However, there are concerns too as Pakistan, like many other beneficiaries under the scheme, have to watch out for child labour, torture, media freedom and access to justice that widely act as a Sword of Damocles. Likewise, the EU monitors implementation of more than 27 international conventions by its signatories as it picks up the tab on trade.
Ambassador Kaminara, however, doled out a piece of advice. Pakistan in order to maintain the trade preferences under the GSP-Plus should strictly adhere to the conventions it signed. In other words, it means its socio-legal mosaic must be free from ad hocism and imprints of an informal economy to further sustainable development. Protection of the environment from climate change and good governance are other additions on the check-list. Only then can it continue to reap dividends of exclusivism in trade tariffs. The EU ambassador also expressed her trading bloc’s interest in the SME sector, which has made appreciative inroads. GSP-Plus is a mutually rewarding initiative, and the EU should buoy Pakistan up with an open heart so that the country could come out of its trade imbalance. By ratifying all 27 conventions, Pakistan has made a mark of its sincerity.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 17th, 2021.
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