President of the Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, Chairman of the National Business Group Pakistan, Chairman of the Policy Advisory Board FPCCI and former Provincial Minister for Information Technology, Mian Zahid Hussain, has said that Pakistan’s GSP+ status with the European Union is one of the country’s most important trade niches and its continuation beyond 2028 is a National economic priority. He said Pakistan has benefited from GSP+ since January 2014, under which thousands of Pakistani products receive zero or preferential tariffs in European markets, on the condition that Pakistan complies with international conventions relating to human rights, labour rights, the environment, climate responsibility, and good governance. He said GSP+ has particularly benefited Pakistan’s textile and garments sector at large.
Mian Zahid Hussain said Pakistan’s goods exports declined by 5.93 percent to $30.139 billion in FY2025-26, compared with $32.040 billion in FY2024-25. During the same period, imports increased by 8.14 percent to $69.761 billion, pushing the trade deficit to approximately $39.62 billion. He said Pakistan’s exports to European countries stood at around $9.089 billion in FY2025-26, only 0.18 percent lower than $9.106 billion in FY2024-25, showing that European markets remained relatively resilient despite the overall decline in Pakistan’s exports. Exports to Spain increased by 5.18 percent to $1.562 billion in FY2025-26. He said the economic value of GSP+ goes far beyond the headline export numbers. According to the European Commission, Pakistan is the largest beneficiary of the GSP+ scheme. In 2024, around €7.5 billion worth of Pakistani exports were eligible for GSP+ preferences, while Pakistani exporters received approximately €732 million in tariff exemptions in a single year. This concession has significantly improved access for Pakistani textiles and garments to the European market.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that despite GSP+ status, Pakistan’s exports account for only around 0.3 percent of the European Union’s total imports, while textiles, which constitute about 95 percent of Pakistan’s exports to the EU, account for only around 0.34 percent of the EU’s total textile imports. Referring to seafood exports, he said Pakistan’s access to the European market was severely affected in 2007 after the country failed to meet strict European Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) standards relating to hygiene, traceability, handling and related requirements. Although restrictions were relaxed in 2013, only a limited number of processing units were allowed to resume exports. He said Pakistan’s total seafood exports stood at approximately $489.2 million in FY2024-25, but exports to the European Union were only $13 million, equal to just 2.7 percent of Pakistan’s total seafood exports and around 0.04 percent of the EU’s seafood imports. He said that without upgrading Karachi Fish Harbour, fishing boats, clean water supply, hygiene standards, cold-chain facilities, auction halls and traceability systems to European standards, Pakistan will not be able to fully tap the sector’s large export potential. This situation clearly demonstrates that GSP+ can reduce tariff barriers, but Pakistan cannot fully benefit from the scheme unless SPS requirements and other non-tariff barriers are also addressed.
Mian Zahid Hussain said Italy was Pakistan’s fourth-largest export market in the European Union in FY2024, receiving Pakistani exports worth $1.135 billion and accounting for 12.68 percent of Pakistan’s total exports to the EU. Germany accounted for around 19 percent, the Netherlands 17.9 percent and Spain 16.4 percent, showing that Pakistan’s exports to Europe remain concentrated in only a few major markets. He stressed that Pakistan must explore new markets in Central, Eastern and Northern Europe in order to boost its exports, utilize the full potential of GSP+ preferences, strengthen and diversify its export base across the European Union.
Mian Zahid Hussain appreciated Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif’s high-level economic and diplomatic engagement with the European Union, saying that the Prime Minister repeatedly highlighted the importance of GSP+ during meetings with European leaders in 2026 and emphasised the need to further expand Pakistan-EU trade relations. He said the holding of the Pakistan-EU Business Forum, the initiation of new business partnerships and the government’s engagement for Pakistan’s inclusion in the future GSP+ framework demonstrate that the government is taking the continuation of this important facility seriously. He also appreciated Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir’s role in advancing Pakistan’s broader diplomatic interests, regional peace and stability, and confidence-building with key international partners. He said strong economic relations with the European Union are supported not only by trade diplomacy but also by Pakistan’s overall diplomatic credibility, regional stability, security cooperation and its role as a matured state. In this context, coordinated civil and military diplomacy is important for advancing Pakistan’s wider economic interests.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the EU’s 2026 GSP+ review, covering the period from 2023 to 2025, acknowledged Pakistan’s legislative progress in relation to the 27 international conventions, while also highlighting several areas where implementation needed further improvement. Pakistan welcomed recognition of its progress but expressed disappointment that the report did not fully and fairly reflect the breadth of reforms undertaken since 2014. He said Pakistan must now prepare for a more demanding phase of GSP. Under the European Union’s new GSP regulations, existing GSP+ beneficiary countries will continue to receive the current preferences until 31 December 2028. Pakistan will have to fulfil the 32 international conventions instead of 27 for enjoying the facility from 1 January 2029.
Mian Zahid Hussain warned that the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, concluded in January 2026, has also become a major challenge for Pakistan. Indian textiles, footwear, chemicals, fisheries, pharmaceuticals and several other sectors will gain access to lower or zero tariffs, significantly vanishing Pakistan’s existing tariff advantage over Indian exporters. He said Pakistan must therefore stop treating GSP+ as a given and instead use it as a challenge for transformation. Reducing energy and logistics costs, improving productivity, increasing value addition, introducing new export products, improving labour conditions and environmental standards, and developing internationally acknowledged Pakistani brands are essential.
Mian Zahid Hussain said Pakistan must, on the one hand, continue vigorous economic diplomacy to secure the continuation of GSP+ beyond 2028, and on the other hand align the regional peace, stability and international confidence-building efforts of Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and the broader national leadership with Pakistan’s long-term economic interests. He said that in the future, quality, productivity, sustainability, innovation, branding and lower production costs will form the real foundation of Pakistan’s economic growth, stability and export strength.
