By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The European Union has proposed to extend Pakistan’s preferential trade status for another four years, the EU envoy to Pakistan said on Sunday, as the South Asian nation faces scrutiny over its human rights record.
Pakistan is one of eight countries that benefit from the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), a special trade arrangement that grants duty-free access to the EU market for certain products in exchange for implementing 27 international conventions on human rights, labour rights, environment and governance.
The current GSP+ framework will expire in December 2023 and Pakistan and other beneficiaries have to re-apply and submit a work plan to show their commitment to the conventions.
“The proposed extension of the current regulation for the GSP+ in effect means no change for Pakistan at the moment,” EU ambassador to Pakistan Riina Kionka said in a video message.
She said Pakistan would enjoy the same trade preferences while also having the same obligations as before, and that the EU would continue to monitor its progress and report to the European Parliament and member states.
“It also means that the EU will continue to monitor progress or backsliding, and we will continue to report to the European Parliament and the member states,” she said.
Kionka said the main issue was to avoid a “cliff” at the end of the year that would disrupt trade flows and affect Pakistani exporters, workers, European businesses and consumers.
She said the latest report on the GSP+ monitoring mission would come out soon, but added that there were some areas where the EU wanted to see more improvement from Pakistan.
“The latest report on the GSP+ monitoring mission that came last summer will come out soon, so I don’t want to prejudice any thoughts on what it might exactly say,” she said.
“But from earlier missions, the earlier monitoring, I can tell you that there are certain areas where the EU would like to see more improvement, for instance, on freedom of expression, on the freedom of the media, certainly on freedom of religion and beliefs, the situation of minorities, the rights of women and gender equality, and also labor rights.”
Last month, a senior EU trade official said Pakistan had taken steps to implement its international commitments under GSP+, but there were still some “deficiencies”.
Pakistan has faced criticism from local and international human rights groups over its crackdown on opposition leaders and activists, its use of military courts for civilian cases, and its alleged harassment of journalists and critics.
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