EU says Pakistan must bridge reform gap to preserve GSP+ access

The European Union (EU) has warned that Pakistan’s continued access to the lucrative GSP+ trade scheme will depend on addressing a widening gap between legislative reforms and deteriorating human rights conditions, saying the country has regressed in several key areas despite enjoying record trade benefits.

According to the EU’s latest GSP+ monitoring report covering the 2023-2025 period, Pakistan remained the bloc’s largest beneficiary of the Special Incentive Arrangement for Sustainable Development and Good Governance (GSP+), exporting €7.5 billion worth of GSP+ eligible goods to the EU in 2024, mainly textiles and clothing. The preferential scheme saved Pakistani exporters an estimated €732 million in tariff exemptions during the year.

However, the report cautioned that trade success has not been matched by sufficient progress in fulfilling Pakistan’s commitments under the 27 international conventions linked to the GSP+ regime.

“During the 2023-2025 monitoring period, Pakistan has been facing compliance issues with its GSP+ obligations. It has regressed in a number of areas while positive change was limited,” the report stated.

The EU acknowledged several legislative and institutional improvements, including legislation to establish a National Commission for Minorities, a narrowing of the scope of the death penalty, the continuation of the de facto moratorium on executions, and the adoption of implementing rules under the Anti-Torture Act.

It also welcomed the passage of a Domestic Violence Bill for Islamabad and described Pakistan’s first marital rape conviction as a significant milestone in advancing women’s rights.

The report praised the growing role of the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), alongside the Ministries of Human Rights and Law and Justice, in promoting compliance with international human rights obligations.

On labour standards, the EU noted Pakistan’s ratification of the International Labour Organization’s 2014 Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention and improvements in labour monitoring mechanisms. It also acknowledged new provincial action plans to combat child labour.

Nevertheless, the report stressed that enforcement remains weak, with child labour declining only gradually and most reforms remaining confined to legislation rather than producing tangible improvements on the ground.

The report expressed deep concern over what it described as a deteriorating rule of law and shrinking civic space.

According to the EU, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings increased during the review period without accountability for perpetrators.

Freedom of expression also worsened following amendments to cybercrime, anti-terrorism and blasphemy laws, which the report said contain vague provisions that can be used against journalists, human rights defenders, political dissidents, minorities and ordinary citizens.

The EU warned that these laws expose individuals to imprisonment, confiscation of assets and restrictions on travelling abroad.

The report further stated that recent constitutional amendments have drawn criticism for weakening judicial independence, adding to existing concerns over fair trial guarantees and access to justice.

Forced labour also continues to affect large numbers of workers despite legislative efforts, it added. Looking ahead to the revised GSP framework scheduled to take effect from 2027, the EU identified a series of priority areas that Pakistan must address to retain preferential market access.

These include ensuring accountability for human rights violations, intensifying efforts to prevent torture, reforming prison conditions and capital punishment laws, reversing the trend of enforced disappearances, protecting freedom of expression, tackling violence against women, expanding children’s access to education, ending child marriages, fully implementing provincial child labour elimination plans, strengthening enforcement against forced labour, preventing discrimination against minorities, and reinforcing the independence and operational capacity of anti-corruption institutions at both federal and provincial levels.

The report suggests that while Pakistan has maintained strong economic gains under the GSP+ regime, future access to the preferential trade arrangement will increasingly depend on demonstrable progress in implementing international human rights, labour rights and governance commitments rather than legislative promises alone.