Motion to deny GSP Plus :
Granting of GSP Plus will lead to export growth
Efforts of the European United Left Nordic Green Left defeated:
The motion to deny GSP+ to Sri Lanka was defeated yesterday at the European Parliament.
The motion to deny the trade concession put forward by the European United Left/Nordic Green Left, was voted down, as 436 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted against it, 119 voted for, while 22 abstained.
The proposal to deny Sri Lanka the GSP Plus status was tabled by 52 MEPs from the European United Left/Nordic Green Left group, who argued that the country’s labour laws are insufficient to protect workers, while there had not been enough progress in the field of human rights.
They argued that Sri Lanka’s efforts to fulfill its commitments have been “worryingly slow” and that they are “inadequate to ensure real progress.”
MEPs Anne-Marie Mineur and Lola Sanchez Caldentey, who visited Sri Lanka from April 10 to 12th, sent a letter to European Commissioner on Trade Cecilia Malmström arguing that the trade concession should not be restored unless Sri Lanka kept its promise to improve labour rights. The granting of GSP Plus will make Sri Lankan exports to the European Union market cheaper and lead to export growth.