Pakistan opposes new conditions under GSP+

Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan has urged the European Union (EU) that the new Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) framework should maintain its development outlook without imposing excessive new conditions on beneficiary countries.

The minister met the visiting European Commission monitoring mission on Friday, where he reaffirmed Pakistan's strong commitment to the EU's GSP+ scheme. The mission was led by Sergio Balibrea, Adviser to the GSP+ Directorate in DG Trade while Raimundas Karoblis, EU Ambassador to Pakistan, also accompanied the delegation.

The minister highlighted the EU's role as Pakistan's largest export market, noting that GSP+ had significantly supported trade, employment, women empowerment and sustainable development in the country.

He underlined Pakistan's continued implementation of the 27 international conventions tied to GSP+ and expressed confidence that the 5th Biennial Review would acknowledge the progress achieved despite major challenges.

The minister also raised concerns over the recent withdrawal of GSP preferences on ethanol, which was Pakistan's largest non-textile export under the scheme, adding that the EU decision had adversely affected livelihoods of farmers.