EU’s Pakistan trade deal ‘courageous’

At a press conference today in Brussels, Karel De Gucht, Member of the EC in charge of Trade, said the European Commission has proposed unilateral suspension of import duties on a number of important export items from Pakistan. The Commisison wants to support Pakistan’s economic recovery following the unprecedented devastation from flooding earlier this year. The proposed trade preferences would liberalise 75 tariff lines on imports from Pakistan accounting for 27% of the country’s current imports to the EU. This would yield an increase in EU imports from Pakistan of about € 100 million. Once agreed by the European Council and by the European Parliament, these trade preferences could enter into force as early as January 1st 2011.