The European Union (EU) GSP+ monitoring team has briefed Sri Lanka on its initial observations.
The EU office in Sri Lanka said that the EU team briefed Minister Malik Samarawickrama on its initial observations, reviewing progress in human rights, labour rights, and environmental protection in Sri Lanka.
The EU also quoted Acting Ambassador Thorsten Bargfrede as saying that the EU has become Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner and that exports went up 20% since GSP+ was regranted in 2017.
The future of Sri Lanka’s EU GSP+ is on the line with the EU team assessing Sri Lanka’s compliance with the conditions under which the trade benefit is granted.
Sri Lanka had committed to comply with 27 conventions related to human rights and labour rights in order to be eligible for the EU GSP+ trade facility.
However, in recent times, Sri Lanka has been found to have failed to fully comply with the recommendations.
(Colombo Gazette)