Brussels, 17/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - The formal removal of India's reservations on 7 November has opened the way for the waiver which the EU is seeking at the WTO to be able to grant trade preferences to Pakistan whose economy was devastated by flooding in August 2010. The EU will, however, have to continue consultations with other member countries to achieve a consensus which it hopes will begin to take shape “in the near future”, according to the Commission's DG Trade.
At the meeting of the WTO Goods Council on 7 November, the EU said that, almost a year ago, it had submitted its request, a revised version of which had since been put forward taking account of the systemic concerns of several member states, India in particular, and stating that the measure would apply for only two years. The United States and Norway have supported the application from the very beginning, and it is now backed by India and Vietnam. Several countries, which include Morocco, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Peru, Argentina and Brazil, still want further consultations. Though it has done its best to address the demands from its partners, the EU admits that problems remain and says it stands ready to take part in further consultations to reach a unanimous agreement as quickly as possible.
The draft regulation brought forward by the Commission in October 2010 proposes unilateral suspension for the following three years of EU customs duties on key Pakistani exports. A list of 75 dutiable product lines of importance for Pakistan's exports has been established (65 for textiles, three for footwear, six for leather goods and one for ethanol, for which an annual tariff quota of 100,000 tonnes has been set). Through this measure it is hoped to increase Pakistani exports to the EU by €100 million per year, compared with 2009. It was initially planned that the initiative would come into effect in January 2012. If it is given the go-ahead by WTO members, the package will have to be given European Parliament approval before it can be implemented.