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🇵🇰 Pakistan /Economy & Trade

Pakistan faces uphill GSP+ battle

From Dawn · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Pakistan is negotiating to reapply for the European Union’s GSP+ trade scheme, whose current framework expires at the end of the year and whose successor will impose stricter requirements.
  • The EU ambassador warned that Pakistan cannot assume its trade benefits will continue automatically, even if current benefits may extend through the end of 2028.
  • Islamabad says it remains engaged with the EU on implementing international conventions, while its Foreign Office criticized the EU assessment as insufficiently balanced.

Pakistan faces a difficult renewal fight over access to the European Union’s GSP+ trade scheme, with Brussels warning that the benefits cannot be treated as guaranteed.

The current framework is due to expire at the end of this year. Pakistan may continue receiving benefits until the end of 2028, but that extension would not automatically secure its place in the successor regime. The next arrangement will carry more stringent requirements.

“The government will need to take steps towards improving the situation,” the EU ambassador said, stressing that Pakistan’s performance would remain central to the process. Islamabad is engaged with the bloc over the effective implementation of international conventions as it seeks to make its case for continued access.

The negotiations have also exposed a disagreement over how Pakistan’s record is being assessed. The Foreign Office said the EU’s assessment did not offer a sufficiently balanced picture of the country’s performance. With the existing framework approaching its deadline, Islamabad must now navigate both the trade implications and the conditions attached to the next scheme.

The government will need to take steps towards improving the situation

· European Union ambassadorThe ambassador described the steps Pakistan must take as it seeks inclusion in the successor GSP+ regime.
About this summary

Originally published by Dawn. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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