Pak-EU talks on GSP Plus status
Diplomats and ministers in Islamabad and the European Union (EU) capitals are doubly busy at present for two reasons. Firstly, because the EU and Pakistan are celebrating 60 years of their relationship in 2022. Secondly, the reviewers from the EU are evaluating Pakistan’s performance for grant of Generalised Scheme of Preferences + (GSP+) status, starting from the year 2024. Both these developments are interlinked and harbinger a heavy agenda for the Estonian-American Riina Kionka, the newly appointed EU’s ambassador to Pakistan expected to arrive in Islamabad in the coming weeks.
The EU minces no words stating that the Union is grounded in human liberties, cultural diversity and universal human rights. But Thomas Seiler, Chargé d’Affaires of the EU delegation to Pakistan, made it clear that these values are to be respected if someone has to do trade with the EU. This he calls their “foreign trade policy” and “foreign policy”. He has been very busy meeting stakeholders across the country pursuing the means to ensure that both Pakistan and the EU could benefit by GSP+ status.
GSP+ is an arrangement through which lower income countries, or poorest of the poor countries, with their export earnings less than two percent of the EU’s total GSP imports, are given a facility to do trade with the EU on zero of lower trade duties. In return for this concession, these countries are to follow 27 international conventions on protection of human rights.
Pakistan was granted this status in 2013 for the first time. Though it was a concession, the then prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, sold it as one of his achievements and claimed that Pakistan’s exports to the EU will be increased more than its neighbours including India. These are political gimmicks as India was not counted among the poorest countries who could deserve the GSP+ status and Pakistan could not beat her so far.
From the start, 2013 till 2019, Pakistan’s exports to the EU went up from 4.538 billion euros to 7.492 billion euros, registering an increase of 65 percent. It means that Pakistan is benefiting from the GSP+ status. But the relations between the EU and Pakistan are not defined by these trade figures as the economy is not enough to define it. In the global world, it is not possible for anyone, including the EU and the US, to let something rot in one corner of the world and think that it will not affect them. The process of decay does not have, or cannot have, a one-way road.
After the US, Europe is the choice of destination for economic migrants and students from Pakistan. When they are settled abroad, they send remittances back home. Many of them do not respect European values and seek cheap labour and unregistered business activity back home which results in funding extremism and promoting black economy in the country. In turn, this black economy and extremism goes back to where it has been funded from and developed countries make stringent laws to stop it. This was one of the reasons that FATF protocols were put in place and Pakistan succeeded in curbing major flow of capital meant for unruly activities channelled through illegal networks.
Rise of populist and far-right political parties and cults is another threat to democracy that the EU and Pakistan face together. There is a phobia of immigrants in the EU while every calamity in domestic politics is blamed on the US and Europe in Pakistan.
Looking at some major activities of Mr. Seiler, we find that on May 7, he met Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister Office (PMO) where options to enhance trade and business were discussed.
On May 16, he met Chief Minister of Sindh Murad Ali Shah and discussed with him different aspects of GSP+ status. Two days later, on May 18, Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, gave a felicitation message to the Prime Minister and expressed desire to enhance cooperation in trade and business. After meeting Seiler, Human Rights Minister Riaz Pirzada also viewed that the cabinet is leaving no stones unturned for the country to meet requirements of the GSP+ status next year. He believes that Nawaz Sharif did it in 2013 and his party will do it again now.
But Seiler thinks that it will not be as easy as it was in 2013 as six new protocols for protection of human rights, especially for differently-abled people, have to be followed. In addition, the business-people and exporters who benefited from this facility will also have to observe labour rights and other protocols at workplaces.
The EU has therefore decided not to limit its role to a “payer” as it now also wants to be a “player”. Thus the moment calls for redefining the relationship between Pakistan and the EU. But it remains to be seen how the new EU ambassador Kionka will take up this challenge.
The writer teaches mediatization at IIUI