Yasir Khan
Pakistan has emerged from the European Union’s latest GSP+ assessment with its most important commercial advantage not only intact, but visibly strengthened: it remains the largest beneficiary of the preferential trade arrangement and one of its most effective users.
The figures tell their own story. In 2024, €7.482 billion worth of Pakistani exports were eligible for GSP+ preferences. Of this, goods worth €7.115 billion successfully entered the European market under the facility, producing a preference-utilisation rate of 95.1 per cent. Pakistan also secured an estimated €732 million in tariff exemptions, equivalent to roughly nine per cent of its export value to the EU.
For a country under persistent pressure to expand exports, protect jobs and sustain industrial production, this is no minor statistic. It confirms that Pakistani exporters are not merely eligible for European preferences; they are making highly effective use of them.European Union’s
The EU remained Pakistan’s principal export market in 2024, receiving 28 per cent of the country’s total exports. Total European imports from Pakistan recovered to approximately €8.3 billion after falling from €9.4 billion in 2022 to €7.9 billion in 2023 amid weaker European demand. The recovery underlines the strategic weight of the Pakistan-EU trade relationship at a time when export-led growth has become central to Pakistan’s economic policy.
The gains are especially important because they sit in labour-intensive sectors. Clothing, textiles, leather products, prepared foods and miscellaneous manufactured goods recorded preference-utilisation rates ranging from 93.6 per cent to 97.7 per cent. These sectors sustain factories, supply chains and employment across Pakistan, often in industries where competitiveness can depend on margins far smaller than the duties removed through GSP+.
The economic conclusion is therefore difficult to miss. GSP+ has become one of the pillars of Pakistan’s external trade, supporting exports, industrial activity and jobs while giving Pakistani products a stronger foothold in one of the world’s most valuable consumer markets.
The European Commission’s report covering 2023 to 2025 also recognises Pakistan’s continued commitment to the 27 international conventions attached to the current GSP+ arrangement. Pakistan maintained all ratifications, entered no new reservations and remained largely compliant with reporting requirements. Its participation in the EU monitoring mission of November and December 2025 further reflected continued transparency, institutional engagement and willingness to work with international partners.
The monitoring mission held consultations with federal and provincial authorities, institutions, businesses and civil society. For Islamabad, the process demonstrates that Pakistan is not treating GSP+ simply as a trade concession, but as a framework for sustained institutional dialogue with the EU.
Among the most notable developments cited in the report was the National Commission for Human Rights receiving “A” status accreditation from the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions in 2024. The designation recognises compliance with international standards relating to independence, mandate and pluralism. Commissions dealing with children and women also remained active, adding to the institutional architecture through which rights-related commitments are being pursued.
The report further acknowledges progress in prison reforms, implementation of anti-torture legislation, judicial training and efforts to reduce the Supreme Court’s appeals backlog. Pakistan’s removal of four offences from the scope of capital punishment, the continued absence of executions since December 2019 and the exercise of presidential clemency in October 2025 were also recognised.
Women’s and children’s rights produced another set of measurable developments. Domestic-violence legislation has now been completed across all provinces and Islamabad. The first marital-rape conviction in Sindh and the adoption of child-marriage reforms in several jurisdictions were cited as significant legal and judicial advances. These developments indicate that reform is not confined to federal declarations, but is also taking shape through provincial legislation and court practice.
Social protection and education also form part of the wider reform picture. Pakistan’s social-protection system has expanded considerably over the past decade, while the National Education Emergency Action Plan, teacher recruitment, school reopening and the enrolment drive for 25,000 to 30,000 children in Islamabad show policy movement in a sector central to long-term human development.
Labour reform is another area where the report records progress. Pakistan ratified the ILO Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention in March 2025, established district vigilance committees and adopted child-labour action plans across all provinces and territories. A gender-pay-gap study, national wage-reform action plan and roadmap for formalising SMEs and workers suggest that the labour-market reform conversation is moving beyond legislation towards implementation.
Environmental compliance received a comparatively positive assessment. Pakistan met important reporting obligations under the UNFCCC and other environmental agreements, ratified the Kigali Amendment and introduced updated frameworks on climate policy, clean air, biodiversity and hazardous waste. Its upgrade to Category 1 under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species is an external confirmation that national legislation meets CITES standards.
Governance reforms were also acknowledged. Pakistan completed the second-cycle implementation review under the UN Convention against Corruption, strengthened pharmaceutical controls, improved narcotics legislation and introduced digital case-management mechanisms. These measures point to administrative modernisation in areas where stronger regulation and documentation are essential.
The EU relationship also extends beyond trade preferences. The bloc’s commitment of €400 million for 2021 to 2027 supports green growth, human capital, governance, education, climate resilience, rule of law, skills development and women’s participation. This wider development partnership gives the GSP+ relationship a broader foundation than market access alone.
Taken together, the latest review gives Islamabad a strong starting point. Pakistan can point to exceptional use of the GSP+ facility, billions of euros in preferential exports, hundreds of millions in tariff relief and a growing body of institutional reform across rights, labour, governance and environmental commitments.
GSP+ has already delivered measurable gains for Pakistan’s exporters. The task before 2027 is to show that Pakistan’s governance and rights institutions can deliver with the same effectiveness.
The writer is a freelance columnist
