Islamabad: Pakistan gets Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Plus status from European Parliament now it can export without any duty to 28 countries of the Europe. Now foreign investors can invest in Pakistan and their products will be exported without any duty from European country. The major boost will be to textile industry of Pakistan. It may be mentioned that 406 parliamentarians expressed their support for Pakistan and the status has been granted till 2017.
Talking to national television channel from European Parliament on telephone, Governor Punjab Ch. Sarwar said that it is a great breakthrough for Pakistan in the field of export and now Pakistan will try to get back its investments that were gone to Bangladesh because Pakistani investors went to Bangladesh for enjoying this tax exemption.
Pakistan textile exports hover around $13 billion of which exports to EU stand at $5 billion. Pakistan is strong in the area of bed linen and home textiles. Under GSP-plus facility, 90 percent of products are covered under 14 percent of the tariff lines and 10 percent products come under other 70 percent tariff lines which are not made in Pakistan. So the annual impact of GSP-plus on Pakistan’s exports will hover around $220 to $300 million.
