Addressing a seminar on "EU-Pakistan Trade: Opportunities for Growth" organised jointly by EU and Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), he said that the EU has adopted the new GSP regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on October 2012. The new preferences will apply as of January 1, 2014.
He said that this allows economic operators more than one year to adopt the new scheme, and for eligibility Pakistan is expected to apply to obtain GSP plus in February 2013. He said on receipt of application it will go to EU parliament which will examine it on merit.
He said that the new GSP regulations represent an important opportunity for Pakistan's relations with the EU not only just in terms of trade but also for the overall political and economic relations. The objectives of the EU's new GSP are to focus help on those truly in need, to strength GSP plus as an incentive to good governance and sustainable development, and to make the shame more transparent, stable and predictable.
On January 1, 2014 the EU's new GSP regime will come into fore. Pakistan is already benefiting from the existing GSP, but it is aspiring to obtain GSP plus status under this new regime. He said if Pakistan qualifies for GSP plus, which involves a number of strict conditions, it will be able to export most of its products to the EU duty free /quota free.
He said that access to GSP plus will depend on Pakistan's record of implantation of 27 international conventions it has already signed and ratified, related to human rights, labour rights, environment and governance etc. Lars-Gunnar Wigemak said that the EU spending sufficient amount on a unique trade diversification programme to help support Pakistani companies gain access to EU markets, but still do more to improve access to both EU and Pakistani markets for our business people.
He said that GSP should not be confused with the Autonomous Trade Preference (ATP), approved in 2012 on duties from 75 products from Pakistan to help the country to recover from the economic effects of the 2010 and 2011 floods. These preferences cover about 27 percent of all Pakistan trade with EU. These separate measures have entered into force in November this year and will apply until December 2013.
Replying to a question, he said that there is no deadline for applying for GSP plus. If Pakistan is interested it should apply soon to enjoy the facility from January 1, 2014 KCCI President, Haroon Agar said that the EU has recognised that Pakistan needs more and not just aid.
He said Pakistan shown that it can meet the conditions related to human rights, labour rights and environment. He expressed hope that Pakistan will qualify and benefit from GSP plus in 2014, this will generate additional space for exports in the long run for Pakistan, in particular to the value added textile sector.
Haroon Agar articulated that Pakistan is fortunate to be a preferred and strategic economic partner of European Union. Pakistan enjoyed GSP Plus from 2002 to 2005, but after expiry of that period, the EU did not renew this package and hence Pakistan's trade was discriminated.
It is heartening to note that EU leaders are supportive of the proposal to accommodate Pakistan in the new GSP Plus initiative from 2014 onwards. KCCI proposes that the Pakistani economic team discuss the game plan to ensure that Pakistan not only qualifies for the GSP Plus commencing from 2014, but also convinces Saarc countries to strive for a uniform and common strategy applicable to all Saarc countries. This would naturally benefit Pakistan, and provide the Pakistani exporters the momentum to compete with other competitors on an equal footing.
Head of WTO cell Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP); Mujeeb Ahmed Khan said that EU is Pakistan's largest trading partner, receiving 21.2 percent of Pakistan's total exports. The trade increased by almost 5 percent annually between 2007and 2011 and the total volume stands at over 8.3 billion euro in 2011.Textile and clothing accounts for almost 70 percent of Pakistan's total export to EU. Chairman Sindh Investment Board (SBI), Zubair Motiwala said Pakistan need to increase trade and ultimately crate more and more jobs to employ its youth.
He said if Pakistan fail to create more jobs it will face very serious consequences as Pakistan has very huge population under the age of 25 and they all need jobs. He said that Pakistan has suffered huge losses due to war against terrorism and now we need your support to increase trade and not aid. He admired the initiative by EU's new Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) plus to Pakistan.
He was of the view that dialogue deficit between EU and Pakistan should be abridged and similar events on trade dialogues be arranged frequently. He said that the terrorism in the region has affected the GDP growth of Pakistan and its economy. Deteriorating law and order situation and energy crises have also brutally affected economic and commercial activities. The FDI has been declined from $5 billion to $1 billion.
He urged that friendly countries of Pakistan, particularly European Union should reciprocate in terms of trade and technology transfer because trade is crucial to overcome current account deficit of about $3.5 billion. He urged EU for alike if not similar treatment as accorded to Bangladesh as prices of utilities are cheaper there as compared to Pakistan which make Pakistani exporters unviable and uncompetitive.
He hoped Government of Pakistan's success in achieving GSP plus . He opined that KCCI can provide its proposal to Government of Pakistan accordingly. He was ambitious that $1 billion export means providing jobs to 100,000 people. He urged exploitation of Thar Coal to produce energy. Perception of Pakistan must be truly and positively depicted in the eyes of countries world-wide. Prosperous Pakistan is in the interest of the EU and well as the countries around the globe, he maintained.
The EU delegation to Pakistan and EU Member States' Belgian Ambassador Peter Claes, Czech Republic Ambassador Miroslav Krenek, Hungarian Ambassador Istvan Szabo, Romanian Ambassador Emilian Ion, Spanish Ambassador Javier Carbajosa Sanchez, Swedish Ambassador Lars-Hjalmar Wide, Deputy Head of EU Delegation to Pakistan Pierre Mayaudon and Consul General/Diplomats of Germany, France, Italy and Austria shared success stories of trade with Pakistan and companies of their respective countries successfully operating in Pakistan.