EU offers trade-tied aid to Pakistan, suspends import duties

EU offers to suspend duties on 75 Pakistani imports to help the country recover from its devastating floods.

BRUSSELS: The European Union (EU) on Thursday offered to suspend duties on 75 Pakistani imports as part of an aid-linked package to help the country recover from its devastating floods.

The unilateral suspension of duties, available for the next three years, concerns imports accounting for 27 per cent of Pakistan's current imports to the EU.

Lifting the duties on the products, which include textiles, would result in an estimated increase of EU imports from Pakistan to the tune of around 100 million euros, the EU said.