EU proposal for trade aid to Pakistan moves to next stage

LONDON:The European Commission has come forward with a package covering 75 products worth up to 176 million pounds over two years to help Pakistan recover from the flood disaster and bolster political stability. This emerged from the briefing Monday by David Martin, Scotland’s most senior member of the European Parliament (MEP), to Glasgow Central MP Anas Sarwar about the latest moves in the European Union (EU) proposal to grant Pakistan privileged access to EU markets.“The European Commission has come forward with a package covering 75 products which could be worth up to 176 million pounds over two years,” explained Mr Martin who is a member of the European Parliaments International Trade Committee, this would mean zero rating tariff covering 27% of Pakistan exports to the EU and would boost Pakistan’s exports by 88 million pounds per year.The EU is currently Pakistan’s major trade partner (worth 7.6 billion Euro) and the main export items are textiles and clothing products which amount to more than 60% of Pakistan’s trade with the EU.“If successful in getting approval from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) this economic assistance will come on top of the EU’s significant humanitarian and development aid.  It shows just how effective the EU can be in offering critical assistance to our global partners,” stressed the Scottish MEP.“I believe that the people of Europe want to do all they can for Pakistan where 20 million people have been affected by the devastating floods. I am very hopeful that we can get support for this proposal in the European Parliament,” concluded Mr. Martin – App