A discussion to be held in Belgian capital Brussels on Wednesday (May 11) to take decision on the granting of the GSP Plus facility to Sri lanka. In its haste to regain the GSP Plus facility, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has agreed with the European Union (EU) to implement a sprawling list of 58 conditions linking human rights, national security and other domestic concerns with trade. Among the 58 conditions imposed are to revoke the Prevention of Terrorism Act, to expedite cases of remaining detainees, to introduce a new Human Rights Action Plan, review the status of the Tamil Diaspora organisations and individuals on the terrorist list, to devolve power under the new Constitution, return all private lands to owners in the North, adopt a policy of National Reconciliation and on National Resettlement, finalise the re-settlement of all displaced persons, and to ratify the Convention on Enforced Disappearances with accompanying legislation as well as issue certificates of absence. David Daly, EU Ambassador to Sri Lanka, has informed the Government that implementation will be monitored and that it will be necessary to quantify progress, wherever possible. He has said that a “continuous flow of progress from Sri Lanka” is a key factor in being able to decide when Sri Lanka should lodge its application. General System Preference – plus (GSP+) is a non-reciprocal trade agreement which focuses to enhance exports to its beneficiaries. Under GSP+, European Union (EU) became the major exporter of Sri Lanka in 2008 making a continuous trade surplus between EU and Sri Lanka. However, in 2010, EU has withdrawn GSP+ facility reducing Sri Lanka’s GSP level. The major objective of this study was to identify the European Union as an important trade partner to Sri Lanka under the GSP+ scheme and to evaluate performance of GSP+ in the different stages of the EU GSP programme in Sri Lanka. Primary data was used to analyze export environment of Sri Lanka without GSP + facility while the secondary data was used to analyze comparative performance of GSP+ within the pre and post GSP+ periods. According to the finding of paper live animals, footwear and stone products highly affected compared to textiles and garments due to GSP+ withdrawal.
