Pakistan faces a difficult path to retain its preferential trade access to the European Union as Brussels warns that GSP+ benefits cannot be taken for granted and that Islamabad will need to address concerns over its implementation of international conventions.
The current EU Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus framework expires at the end of 2026, after which Pakistan will have to seek inclusion in the successor scheme. Existing beneficiaries are expected to receive preferences during a two-year transition period until Dec. 31, 2028, but the transition does not guarantee automatic continuation under the new framework.
EU Ambassador to Pakistan Raimundas Karoblis told Dawn that there were serious concerns within the European Commission over Pakistan’s compliance with the conventions underpinning GSP+. He said areas of regression identified in the EU’s latest assessment would need to be addressed as part of Pakistan’s reapplication.
The European Commission’s assessment for 2023 to 2025 raised concerns over enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, freedom of expression, journalists’ and minority rights, judicial independence, access to justice and forced labor. The report also said that some legislative and administrative measures had not yet translated into sufficient improvements on the ground.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office said Islamabad remained committed to implementing the 27 international conventions linked to the current GSP+ framework, but argued that the EU assessment did not present a sufficiently balanced picture of the country’s performance. It also said GSP+ remained central to Pakistan’s economic relationship with the EU.
The stakes are high because Pakistan is the largest beneficiary of the GSP+ scheme. In 2024, Pakistan received nearly €732 million in tariff exemptions, while $7.115 billion worth of exports used preferential access. The EU accounted for about 28 percent of Pakistan’s total exports, with nearly 90 percent of exports to the bloc eligible for GSP+ preferences.
Textiles and clothing are particularly dependent on the arrangement, accounting for about 70 percent to 76 percent of Pakistan’s exports to the European market. Other major beneficiaries include leather products, prepared foods and beverages. Losing preferential access could therefore make Pakistani products less competitive in one of the country’s most important export markets.
The new GSP+ framework will also raise the compliance requirements. The current system covers 27 international conventions, while the successor scheme will cover 32. Pakistan has already ratified the five additional conventions, according to the EU ambassador, but implementation will remain the key test.
Pakistan will also need to submit an action plan as part of its reapplication, with concrete measures, timelines and performance indicators. The EU has not yet determined whether the concerns identified in its assessment are serious enough to trigger a partial or full temporary suspension of existing preferences.
The EU has previously withdrawn GSP+ preferences from countries including Sri Lanka, while Bolivia has faced partial withdrawal. The EU ambassador said Pakistan’s current situation still required further investigation, but warned that the absence of a suspension decision should not be viewed as a free pass.
The post EU Warns Pakistan GSP+ Benefits Cannot Be Taken For Granted appeared first on ProPakistani.
