Sri Lanka and GSP+: Ensuring Sustainable Supply Chains

02 October 2017
JAIC Hilton Residences, Colombo

While Sri Lanka regained the GSP+ status in May 2017, the country needs to comply with requirements needed to retain this status. The GSP+ is conditional on Sri Lanka complying with 27 international conventions on human rights, environment and labour rights. The removal of custom duties will be accompanied by a monitoring process.

Given that businesses can play an important role in assisting the Sri Lanka government in this regard, a forum on ‘Sri Lanka and GSP+: Ensuring Sustainable Supply Chains’, aimed at the business community, civil society and governmental officials to foster dialogue, was held on 02 September 2017, at JAIC Hilton Residences, Colombo. The forum was organized jointly by the Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka, the Foreign Trade Association (FTA) in Brussels, the European Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka, and the International Labour Organization (ILO), Sri Lanka.

IPS Research Fellow, Janaka Wijayasiri, made a presentation at the forum on the topic ‘Impact of the GSP+ on Key Sectors of the Economy: Some Preliminary Estimates.’ He highlighted that Sri Lanka’s exports are likely to grow by as much as 15 per cent, with the textiles and apparel sector reaping the greatest benefit from the reinstatement of the preference scheme.

For more insights, read his blog: Crunching the Numbers: What is the Real Export Benefit of GSP Plus to Sri Lanka?