EU warns Pakistan GSP+ trade benefits at risk over human‑rights setbacks

The European Union’s latest monitoring report for the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) names Pakistan as the scheme’s largest beneficiary, with €7.5 billion in eligible exports and about €732 million in tariff savings in 2024, chiefly from textiles and clothing. The report, covering the 2023‑2025 period, also says Pakistan has “regressed in a number of areas while positive change was limited.” It highlights a rise in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, especially in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, worsening rule‑of‑law and shrinking civic space, and new anti‑terrorism, cyber‑crime and blasphemy‑law amendments that broaden preventive detention and threaten freedom of expression.

While noting modest legislative steps – such as a National Commission for Minorities, a narrower death‑penalty scope, a domestic‑violence bill and the first conviction for marital rape – the EU stresses weak implementation of labour‑rights reforms and child‑labour plans. The Union warns that continued GSP+ access, which will be re‑applied under stricter sustainability criteria from 2027, depends on genuine progress on these human‑rights and governance commitments.