It is very encouraging to know that Pakistan would continue to enjoy GSP Plus status in the UK market after Brexit. According to a news item in this newspaper on 15th July, 2017, British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Richard Crowder has informed Commerce Minister, Khurram Dastgir Khan that “as the UK leaves the EU, we want to maintain and strengthen the access to the UK markets for developing countries. For Pakistan, which benefits from zero tariffs on a two-thirds of all products when exporting to the UK, we aim to maintain these levels of access, and will continue to deliver improved support by helping to address constraints to trade.” The UK’s first priority is to deliver continuity in its trading arrangements on leaving the EU and it has pledged to improve access to the UK markets for world’s poorest countries post-Brexit. Earlier, Khurram Dastgir in a letter to the UK Secretary of State for International Trade had expressed the hope that bilateral political and trade relations between Pakistan and the UK would continue to grow for mutual benefits of both countries. He had also added that “we understand that until a formal trade arrangement is reached between the UK and the EU, products of Pakistan origin shall continue to have duty-free access in the UK.” According to him, this duty free access was of critical importance for Pakistan.

We feel that the assurance by the UK High Commissioner in Pakistan that the country’s products would continue to enjoy preferential treatment in the UK market after Brexit is really heartening. There were some apprehensions in the market that Pakistan and some of the other developing countries could lose GSP plus status in the British market during the course of negotiations with the EU countries or in the post-Brexit period. It is very reassuring that such apprehensions have been removed through a letter and the Brexit would not make any difference on the present trade relations between the two countries. The UK, in fact, currently provides trade preferences to around 70 developing countries and does not seem to be contemplating any change in the present relationship with any country at the moment. While Pakistan has got the necessary assurance from British authorities, the country needs to be now little bit more concerned about the continuity of GSP plus status with other EU countries because the UK had always actively supported Pakistan in getting this status in the overall EU market. Some of the other EU countries could now voice concerns about our record on human rights, death penalty, etc., once the UK support is no more there. However, while the letter of the British High Commissioner could be seen as a positive development, this should not be enough to satisfy our policymakers. The question how long Pakistan will be able to depend on the generosity of other countries has no easy answer. In our view, it must learn to stand on its own feet, without crutches provided by others. Pakistan has been enjoying duty-free access of its products in the European Union since January, 2014 and such arrangements do not last forever. The country needs to export much more than at present for a sustainable balance of payments position and this could only be done by increasing the productive capacity of the country and ensuring competitiveness of our products in the international market. Unfortunately, however, the government is not taking adequate measures in this regard. SBP authorities tried to readjust the exchange rate according to market conditions a few days ago but they were shouted down.