Exports to UK can swell to £10bn with GSP plus

The UK-Pakistan Business Council has urged exporters to reap maximum benefits from GSP plus as the exports to UK can swell to £10 billion if all available potentials are fully exploited to maximum extent.

UK-Pakistan Business Council Chairman Kashif Ashfaq expressed this while talking to a delegation of women exporters on Thursday, said a press statement.

Ashfaq said that GSP plus has strengthened Pakistan’s commitment to further improve decent work standards and labor rights, full protection to the rights of minorities besides to do with child labor.

He said the apparel sector supported by GSP plus employs more than 33 per cent women workers with many others in key positions. He said increased bilateral trade created jobs and bettered the working conditions of workers. He said sustainable policies framed with the consultation of stakeholders for the business sector yielded positive impact on the national economy.

He said still vast scope exists to fully explore the untapped European markets and volume of export could be enhanced manifolds from the existing level of 12.2 billion euros bilateral trade last year which shot up from 6.9 billion euros in 2013 after grant of status.

Ashfaq said EU GSP plus is a mutually beneficial arrangement leading to increased exports for both sides. He said that Pakistani exports have increased by more than 100 per cent in 12 EU member states which speaks of prudent economic policies of the government to facilitate the exporters.