Pakistan GSP+ Islamabad: The Pakistan government has refuted to ratify the “tough conditions” placed by the European Union (EU) including the abolition of death penalty for the extension of new Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status for 2024 due to “legal and political implications”, media reports said.
Islamabad has decided to expedite engagement with the EU to seek some waiver regarding the ratification of new protocols, reports The Express Tribune.
The GSP is an entrenched trade and development policy instrument, which has been in place since 1971.
Pakistan has been a major recipient of the GSP+ scheme for the last seven years.
There is zero duty on several products under this status which is set to expire on December 31, 2023.
Under the current GSP+ system, the EU continues monitoring the progress made by the beneficiary countries towards the implementation of 27 international conventions.
Since the beneficiary countries will have to re-apply for the scheme’s extension, their record of compliance is given due consideration.
Sources told The Express Tribune that the EU Parliament had proposed additional conventions for the new GSP+ scheme (2024-34).
These conventions include the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) – Individual complaints against State parties in ICC – and First Optional Protocol to the International Convention Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) – Individual complaints against State parties in ICCPR-UNHRC.
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