Overview
- On Oct. 21–22 EU Ambassador Raimundas Karoblis met Pakistan Textile Council leaders in Karachi and told Islamabad the bloc wants short-term, demonstrable implementation of existing human-rights and rule-of-law commitments rather than new laws.
- The Pakistan Textile Council formally pledged to support the government’s GSP+ reapplication process by supplying policy input, technical help and industry coordination to produce a time-bound implementation plan.
- The European Commission’s 2023–2025 GSP+ monitoring report lists specific priorities Pakistan must address, including accountability for human-rights violations, steps against torture, reforms on enforced disappearances and freedom of expression, measures to curb violence against women and child marriage, stronger enforcement against child and forced labour, minority protections, and anti-corruption capacity building.
- Industry leaders warned that the EU’s emerging rules — notably the Digital Product Passport and supply-chain due diligence — need clearer, proportionate guidance because they could push traceability and compliance requirements back to farms and small suppliers.
- Pakistan is the EU’s largest GSP+ beneficiary, exporting about EUR 7.5 billion in eligible goods in 2024, and faces a reapplication window through end-2028 which, if preferences are lost, would threaten jobs, tax revenue and exporters already facing new competition from the EU‑India trade deal.