Life after the loss of GSP Plus
By Gomi Senadhira In Parliament last week, Deputy Minister Anil Jayantha responded to MP Ravi Karunanayake’s question regarding the future of Sri Lankan exports to the EU market by stating that, “It is expected to examine and report on possible options for securing long-term and sustainable market access to the EU through a deeper economic […]
Sri Lanka finds itself facing the prospect of losing its preferential access to the European Union market following its graduation from the EU's Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP) scheme. The Deputy Minister Anil Jayantha recently acknowledged that the government is examining options for securing long-term and sustainable market access through a deeper economic arrangement with the EU, including a possible comprehensive trade agreement.
This comes as Sri Lanka is preparing to graduate from the GSP scheme in 2029, if it maintains its upper-middle-income status. The EU-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which Sri Lanka could model its future agreement on, has already been negotiated and is expected to be signed in December 2026, with full implementation targeted for early 2027.
However, Sri Lanka's situation is more pressing as it has not taken any significant steps to explore alternative trade options with the EU. The country should have begun this process much earlier, given that it held upper-middle-income status briefly between 2019 and 2020. While trade bodies have been vocal about other issues affecting Sri Lanka's GSP status, they have failed to raise the alarm about the need for a long-term strategy to secure a level playing field in the EU market.
Written by urgent.news from The Island Sri Lanka's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.