The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) has set up a task force to formulate a strategy for market access in the European Union (EU) and to benefit from zero percent duty in the new Generalised System of Preference (GSP) scheme.
The task force will meet on Saturday in Islamabad with Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar in the chair. The meeting will be attended by textile associations' chairmen and leading textile export houses.
The meeting will also discuss ways and means to initiate a strong lobby to achieve a place for the country in the GSP-Plus scheme, which would ensure duty-free export of textile products in the EU market.
Another issue to come up for discussion at the meeting will be hiring of lawyer/ consultant based in Brussels and the EU capitals to fight Pakistan's case for inclusion in the new 10-year GSP scheme beginning from July 2005.
The task force will also discuss plans to select a Pakistan based lawyer/consultant to take up the case under the 27 Convention requirements.
It may be pointed out that the EU higher-ups had indicated that Pakistan would not qualify for the GSP-Plus scheme. However, it could be benefited from the Basic GSP scheme, which would be open to all developing countries, which would receive a reduction of about 20 percent in the normal customs duty for all trade sectors in which they have less than 15 percent share of the GSP imports. In the new GSP scenario, Pakistan would have to pay 8.5 percent duty on its exports to the EU.
The textile exporters had been urging the government to try to get a place for Pakistan in the GSP-Plus scheme as the exports to Europe at 8.5 percent duty would not be feasible after the quotas are abolished from January 2005.
Presently, the Pakistani exporters were paying 11 percent anti-dumping duty on the export of bed linen. Combined with the duty imposed through the new GSP scheme, the total duty effect would be about 20 percent, which would have a lethal effect on the country's exports.