EU welcomes planned lifting of import restrictions by SL

Saturday, 20 May 2023 00:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The European Union (EU) has welcomed Sri Lanka’s intentions to present next month a plan for the lifting of the import restrictions.

The matter had come up for discussion at the recently concluded Sri Lanka-EU Joint Commission sessions in Colombo. The Joint Commission took stock of the conclusions of the Working Group on Trade and Economic Cooperation held virtually.

The EU and Sri Lanka noted the significance of bilateral trade relations. “In this regard, the EU urged Sri Lanka to lift the import restrictions preventing many European products from entering its market. The EU welcomed Sri Lanka’s intention to present a plan for the lifting of the import restrictions by June 2023. Sri Lanka expressed its intention towards a gradual phasing out of these restrictions, factoring in the current economic situation,” according to the joint statement following the discussion.

Sri Lanka’s imports in the first quarter of 2023 declined by 31.7% year on year to $ 3.85 billion. Last year imports declined by 11.4% to 18.3 billion. The EU and Sri Lanka also agreed that the EU-Sri Lanka Investor Dialogue may take place at an early date, in Sri Lanka.

The EU presented the new EU GSP Regulation, which is expected to enter into force on 1 January 2024, for the next 10-year cycle. The EU informed that the report of the last EU GSP+ monitoring cycle 2020-2022 is expected to be released in the coming months.