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| Saturday, 19 February 2005 |
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Lanka's efforts bear fruit Minister of Trade, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Jeyaraj Fernandopulle who has made intensified efforts to obtain duty free treatment for Sri Lanka's exports to the 25 trading nations of the European Union citing the particularly difficult situation Sri Lanka faces after the tsunami disaster, has obtained a very positive reply from his counterpart in the European Commission, Peter Mandelson. Mandelson in his response to representations made by Minister Fernandopulle states that the potential contribution of trade measures to alleviate the economic consequences of the post tsunami crisis has been an important element in the comprehensive response of the European Commission and that the most effective means of achieving this is through the EU's future Generalised System of Preferences known as the GSP+ or Special Incentive Arrangement for Sustainable Development & Good Governance. The European Trade Commissioner has pointed out that owing to Sri Lanka's high level of compliance with ILO labour standards, Sri Lanka has already received privileged treatment through the application of the current GSP Scheme's "Social Clause". Particular mention has been made by Mandelson that based on current assessment Sri Lanka could be considered for the special GSP+ arrangement of the EU scheduled to come into effect by April 1, 2005 which grants zero duty for all GSP eligible goods provided that compliance with 27 international conventions prescribed by the EC is achieved at the time of application. The Ministry of Trade, Commerce and Consumer Affairs had obtained special preference for Sri Lanka goods exported under the EC - Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) scheme with effect from 1st February 2004. The Ministry has consistently pursued the development of obtaining further tariff reductions to zero particularly for Sri Lanka's clothing exports to the EU in view of the rigors and challenges to be faced in a free for all market through the elimination of quotas. Under the European Commission's New Special GSP+ System for 2006 - 2015, Sri Lanka will be eligible to enjoy duty free status in the EU for around 7,200 products including garments and other manufactured exports provided Sri Lanka conforms to the eligibility criteria. An Inter-Ministerial Committee chaired by the Secretary, Trade, Commerce and Consumer Affairs is working towards establishing Sri Lanka's compliance under eligibility criteria of the EC's New Special GSP+ Scheme. The EU is the second largest market for Sri Lanka's apparel products accounting for more than 3 per cent of Sri Lanka's exports of apparels and is the largest trading partner of Sri Lanka in terms of imports 16 per cent and exports 30 per cent. |
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