Issue Brief on “Pakistan’s GSP+ at a Crossroads: A Critical Reading of the EU’s...

The European Commission and the EU High Representative's latest review of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), accompanied by a country assessment of Pakistan for 2023-2025, presents a mixed but qualified assessment. It recognises Pakistan's continued legislative and institutional progress, while maintaining that constraints on implementation have limited outcomes in several areas.[1] This is consequential because GSP+ is not merely a diplomatic label. It is the framework through which Pakistan receives zero-duty access on approximately two-thirds of EU tariff lines in return for implementing international conventions on human rights, labour rights, environment, climate and good governance. The assessment is therefore best approached as a basis for constructive engagement: Pakistan's commitment to these objectives is evident, but the extent of its fiscal, administrative, security, developmental and federal-provincial constraints must remain central to any fair appraisal.

The commercial stakes are substantial. In 2024, Pakistan exported EUR 7.48 billion in GSP+-eligible products to the EU, used preferences on EUR 7.12 billion, achieved a 95.1% utilisation rate, and received an estimated EUR 732 million in tariff exemptions. The EU absorbed 28% of Pakistan's exports, while textiles and clothing constituted roughly 70-76% of exports to the European market.[2] The EU assessment should therefore be taken seriously, but not to be sensationalised as an imminent withdrawal of concessions. Under the revised EU regulation applying from January 2027, existing beneficiaries must reapply, yet they retain preferences during a two-year transition ending in 2028.[3] Pakistan has a reform window, not a trade cliff.

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