LAHORE: The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) would hold consultative sessions with major Pakistani exporters to deliberate ways to capture the UK’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Plus Scheme.
The sessions would be conducted in four major business hubs of the country; Lahore, Karachi, Faisalabad and Sialkot, wherein TDAP would take input from different sectors, including cotton, leather, textile, IT, medical, and furniture.
According to details, the United Kingdom is preparing its own GSP plus scheme or making a similar arrangement to maintain Pakistan’s current level of merchandise exports to the UK.
As per TDAP’s GSP consultant Kamal Shahryar, “UK is currently in a transitional period which will continue till the end of 2020. But from January next year, the UK will run its GSP scheme so that its trade remains affected. Currently, there are 74 countries in the GSP scheme and the UK wants to give good arrangements to all.”
Shahryar said the authority had already started initial level discussions with the UK officials.
“Previously, the UK deputy higher commissioner had visited two industrial units in the country where he held meetings with the exporters so as to reach to a better decision with regard to GSP plus,” he said. “The bottom line is that the UK wants to make a GSP scheme which is not less favourable in any way than the EU’s GSP.”
Regarding the consultative sessions, he said the TDAP would discuss with exporters specific areas of cooperation, besides taking feedback for further improvements.
“We are trying to get feedback from our exporters and also to take their suggestions on what can be discussed at the government-to-government level,” he added.
