Post Brexit UK’s GSP Scheme and Potential for Pak-UK Trade—Webinar

Pakistan to continue getting GSP Plus facility from UK after Brexit: High Commissioner Moazzam Ahmad Khan

London: Pakistan High Commissioner Moazzam Ahmad Khan shared with the business community  that Pakistan would continue to benefit from the UK’s trade preferences scheme at par with the EU GSP Plus facility after Brexit. He was delivering a key-note address at a Webinar on “Post-Brexit UK’s GSP Scheme and Potential for Pak-UK Trade”, jointly organised by the Pakistan High Commission, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), and Ministry of Commerce on 07 December 2020. Besides officials of the Ministry of Commerce, TDAP, and Chambers of Commerce & Industry, a large number of businessmen from Pakistan and UK attended the webinar.

While speaking during the event, the High Commissioner highlighted the significance of the UK market for Pakistan and stated that the duty-free access to Pakistan on more than 90% of Pakistan’s exports is a good omen for UK-Pakistan future trade and investment relations. To make effective utilisation of the concessions available to Pakistan, and increase its market share post Brexit, he underlined the need for a comprehensive strategy, and effective public-private cooperation to leverage this potential. Mr Khan apprised the participants about the efforts undertaken to address regulatory and non-tariff barriers on Pakistan products. He also shared his outreach plan to create awareness about the trade and investment potential of Pakistan.

The High Commissioner stated that it was encouraging to see remarkable growth in Pakistan’s exports to the UK and increased remittances to Pakistan during the current fiscal year. In order to sustain the current momentum, he urged the Pakistani businesses to diversify export products, establish long term business contacts with the buyers, develop compliance mechanisms, and acquire certifications. He shared that given the potential of the UK market, products like pharmaceutical, healthcare & PPE, surgical instruments, IT enabled services, processed food and, agriculture products possess immense potential and need to be exploited. He assured all possible assistance and facilitation from the Mission to the Pakistani business community in their marketing efforts.

Earlier, Minster (Trade), Mr. Shafiq Shahzad made a comprehensive presentation on the UK’s trade preferential scheme for Pakistan & other developing countries, and highlighted potential for enhanced trade between Pakistan and the UK. Mr Kamal Shahryar, Adviser TDAP spoke about the issues related to compliance with international conventions and rules of origin. During the event, Ex-Chairman PREGMEA, Mr. Ijaz Khokhar, Mr. Amjad Pervez, Chairman JumpStart Pakistan, and Mr. Atta ul Haq, Secretary General, Pakistan-Britain Business Council shared their views and gave proposals for expansion of UK-Pakistan trade and economic ties in the post Brexit period.