‘This is not a joke’: Business community condemns statements against Pakistan’s GSP+ status

The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Friday condemned statements against Pakis­tan’s status under the European Union’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+).

The remarks come a day after as government officials bitterly criticised ex-premier Imran Khan’s son Kasim and party leader Zulfi Bukhari for allegedly att­e­m­pting to derail the country’s GSP+ status in a speech he made at the sidelines of a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) moot.

It should be mentioned that, according to a fact check by iVerify, the claim that Kasim demanded the suspension of Pakistan’s GSP+ status at the UNHRC summit was found to be false.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, FPPCI officials, including Vice Chairman Zaki Aijaz and United Business Group Patron-in-Chief S.M. Tanveer condemned statements against the country’s GSP+ status.

In his remarks, Aijaz said that “ensuring the protection of the GSP+ status is a national responsibility”.

“FPCCI and the business community condemn any group that is involved in lobbying against Pakistan’s economic interests,” he said, warning that it puts “millions of Pakistanis and the country’s economy at risk”.

Aijaz appealed to all stakeholders to “stand united for the good of Pakistan’s economy and its people”.

Tanveer, meanwhile, said, “We have been seeing uproar in the media since yesterday, and we are not a political party, but we condemn (the reports).

“Whoever speaks against the GSP+ status and from wherever, we would still condemn it, because this is not a joke,” Tanveer said.

He maintained that 37 per cent of Pakistan’s total exports were to the EU, and the two share the bilateral trade volume of up to $12 billion.

“The EU is our second most important trading partner,” Tanveer said.

He added that textiles, leather and rice covered the majority of Pakistan’s exports to the EU and that around three million families had become employed after Pakistan received its GSP+ status in 2014.

The official stressed that Pakistan was “fully compliant with labour laws”, and “better” than regional countries, India and Bangladesh in terms of compliance.

Underscoring the significance of the GSP+ status for Pakistan, Tanveer likened it to the “jugular vein” for the country’s exports.

“In 2014, our exports to the EU were up to $2.5bn, and today, we have reached [..] $9.5bn,” he said. He added that there were a total of “eight countries which enjoyed GSP+ status, and the status was reviewed every two years.

“Pakistan has qualified it every time,” Tanveer said.