SL’s GSP + application in Jan
The government is expected to re-submit in January its application to regain trade concessions from the European Union (EU) under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Plus.During a meeting with the apparel industry on December 14 International Development Minister Malik Samarawickrama had said the government is scheduled to re-submit the application to regain the GSP + concessions for Sri Lanka.
The Minister had highlighted that before the end of December the fish ban would be removed paving the way for the government move on GSP +.
In the meantime, the trade unions working with the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) workers would be part of the negotiations of the regaining of the GSP plus with the EU alongside the apparel industry.In this regard, the government had agreed to involve them in the consultations and as a result of which the trade unions and the industry associations would be asked to submit their proposals for the negotiations.
Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen addressing a recent event in Colombo has said that the government is moving forward on EU GSP + facility and that the “government’s timely initiative to regain GSP + would likely cancel out any potential effects of TPP on our apparels.”
Sri Lanka’s apparel industry has set a new export target of $10 billion by 2025 and the government supports it, he noted.