Pakistan must reapply for GSP+ trade status, German envoy says
Ina Lepel says the EU published a compliance report in July after last winter's monitoring visit, and trade between the two countries has held near €3.5 billion since 2017.
Pakistan will have to reapply for preferential trade status under the European Union's Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus, German Ambassador Ina Lepel said in Islamabad on Monday, because a new EU framework takes effect in 2028.
Speaking at a meet-the-press programme, Lepel said the EU carried out a monitoring visit last winter and published a report in July setting out the compliance areas Pakistan must address. Beneficiary countries must apply again for the scheme, according to Business Recorder, which reported that officials hope Pakistan will complete the required work convincingly enough to keep the status. The European Union is Pakistan's largest export market, and Germany is its biggest buyer inside that market.
Lepel said Germany supports Pakistan's IMF programme on merit and cited what she called positive signs of economic resilience after recent shocks. She said she hoped the government would sustain its momentum on the structural reforms the programme requires.
Trade between Germany and Pakistan has stayed at roughly €3.5 billion a year since 2017, she said, with little growth in a relationship that dates to 1959, when Pakistan became the first country to sign an investment protection agreement with Germany.
She pointed to renewed corporate interest driven by a global push to diversify supply chains, citing Pakistan's consumer market and its location. An upcoming German-Pakistan business forum and a newly established Pakistan Desk at the German-Emirati Joint Chamber of Commerce in Dubai were intended to help close cross-border deals, she said.
On education, Lepel said the number of Pakistani students in Germany has more than doubled in a decade, from 6,000 in 2017 to 13,000 now. German officials attribute the rise mainly to tuition-free public universities, which leave international students to cover only their living costs, and to a partnership between the German Academic Exchange Service and Pakistan's Higher Education Commission.
The ambassador spoke on Monday in the capital, at a briefing covered by both Business Recorder and The News International.
How the reports differ
Business Recorder led on the GSP+ renewal, the EU's July compliance report and the €3.5 billion trade figure. The News International took the same briefing and headlined it on student numbers, reporting more German visas for Pakistani students. Only Business Recorder set out the 2028 framework and the requirement that beneficiary countries reapply.
Tyre exporters set $150mn target for FY27 with ministry backing
Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan's ministry has asked exporters to submit product details and HS codes so it can take up market-access complaints with Türkiye.
Ahsan Iqbal reports encouraging export, remittance growth in first quarter
The planning minister says exports and remittances held up despite global supply-chain disruption, but the statement carried no figures and named no comparison period.
Dar chairs inter-ministerial meeting on exports and GSP+ use
Commerce, foreign affairs and human rights officials were told to keep momentum on trade facilitation as Pakistan seeks wider use of EU trade preferences.
Pharma exports fall 30% to three-year low as Afghan border stays shut
The PPMA's former chairman says the halt in supplies to Afghanistan and higher fuel costs have made Pakistani medicines uncompetitive in low-margin markets.
Gilani pledges legislation, oversight and funding for water security
Senate chairman tells Pakistan Water Week that provincial water laws must be fully enforced and groundwater extraction regulated as per capita availability falls
Refineries to absorb Rs15bn a month to hold petrol Rs15 cheaper
Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announce the arrangement in Islamabad; Arab News PK puts the monthly refinery burden at $54 million.
PIA appoints Adrian Hamilton-Manns as chief executive
The former SalamAir head succeeds Air Vice Marshal Amir Hayat, who ran the national carrier for four and a half years and prepared it for privatisation.
Petrol may drop Rs15 a litre as refineries take the burden
Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik says the new import-parity formula puts a Rs15 billion monthly cost on local refineries, which say they were not consulted.