EU to decide on Pakistan's GSP+ status after two-year review

European Union's Ambassador to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara on Thursday said that the bloc will decide about extending the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status for 2024 to Islamabad after reviewing the country's two-year performance report on exports for the years 2020 and 2021, reported local media.

According to Dawn, while speaking to the business community here at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Kaminara said: "The last two-year report (2018-19) was issued in February 2020. Pakistan's performance report (for the years 2020 and 2021) is under compilation these days."

"Therefore, the further decision for the extension of this status to Pakistan, with effect from Jan 1, 2024, will be made after reviewing this report," she added.

Emphasising that the EU was ready to help Pakistan to expand its exports to the bloc, Kaminara said: "We will continue engaging with partners, including Pakistan, to address the common challenge of climate change."

The European Commission has adopted a legislative proposal for 10 years (2024-34) to offer a new European Union GSP to remove or reduce duties on the import of products to promote sustainable development in low-income countries.

Pakistan is the largest beneficiary of the current GSP plus scheme since 2014 -- zero per cent duty on several hundred products under the current regulation, which will expire on December 31, 2023, and to which the new proposal will become the successor.

( With inputs from ANI )

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