ECCSL webinar tomorrow on ‘EU-Sri Lanka Trade: The Future of GSP+’

The European Union’s General Scheme of Preferences (GSP) is a system of trade concessions given by the European Union (EU) by reducing, or even removing, tariffs on a range of goods imported from designated developing countries. The GSP+ scheme is a unilateral preferential tariff arrangement that eliminates tariffs for over 6,000 products. 

The GSP+ scheme is awarded to middle income countries which commit to effectively implementing international conventions in areas such as labour rights, human rights, the protection of the environment and good governance. Sri Lanka applied for and was granted GSP+ in May 2017 and is currently one of only eight countries holding the EU’s GSP+ status. The GSP+ status granted to Sri Lanka has made a significant contribution to the country’s economy; exports to the EU have increased to 2 billion euros, making the EU Sri Lanka’s second-largest export market but there is still room for further expanding and diversifying exports. 

The current GSP+ program is in place until the end of 2023, but the European Commission has just submitted a legislative proposal for its renewal for a period of further 10 years.

To highlight the importance of the GSP+ for Sri Lanka, the European Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (ECCSL) has organised a webinar titled ‘EU-Sri Lanka Trade: The Future of GSP+’. This will be held on Tuesday 5 October from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.  

Head of Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Ambassador Denis Chaibi, will open the event and give a welcome address. This will be followed by a presentation on the subject of ‘The Future of the EU ‘GSP Plus’ and its Benefits,’ which will be conducted by Senior Advisor on Sustainable Development from the European Commission Directorate General for Trade Nikolaos Zaimis.  

After the presentation there will be a panel discussion, followed by a Q&A session with the panel. 

For the panel discussion, the presenter Zaimis will be joined by a number of eminent and knowledgeable speakers. These will be Sri Lanka Export Development Board Chairman and CEO Suresh D. de Mel and Omega Line Group Director Felix A. Fernando. The discussion will be moderated by Economist and Centre for a Smart Future Co-Founder Anushka Wijesinghe.  

To join the webinar and learn about the future of the EU GSP+ programme, guests are invited to register through https://bit.ly/3CSEyE0 or by visiting the ECCSL Facebook page at www.facebook.com/EurochamSL.