Sri Lanka is at risk of losing access to a European trade concession worth over 500 million US dollars by April 2022 if the government does not take drastic measures to address human rights concerns, an opposition lawmaker said.
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M A Sumanthiran told EconomyNext on Wednesday (29) that it is his belief that the European parliament has already decided to withdraw access to the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) concession as per a resolution passed in June this year.
“Unless the government makes some dramatic changes to address human rights issues, the country is likely to lose GSP+ in April next year,” he said.
The European parliament adopted a resolution on June 10 calling for the repeal of Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and inviting the European Union (EU) Commission to consider temporarily withdrawing access to GSP+.
Related: EU parliament adopts resolution on Sri Lanka; wants PTA repealed, GSP+ withdrawn
Meanwhile, a five-member European Union (EU) delegation arrived in Sri Lanka on Monday (27) to review the continuation of trade concession amid renewed concerns about the country’s human rights situation.
The EU is the second largest export destination for Sri Lankan products, and GSP+ has helped the country’s exporters to consolidate their position.
Related: EU to review Sri Lanka’s access to GSP+ trade concession amid rights abuse concerns
Sampathan met the EU delegation with TNA leader R Sampanthan on Tuesday. The MP told reporters that the discussion had focused on the PTA.
“We said [at the discussion] that this Act must be repealed, as it is very unjust. It is being used again, so it must be abolished. We also said people detained under the PTA, whether recently or long ago, must be released. We also talked about militarisation, and said that the situation in the country is not ideal for good governance,” he said.
“It is not correct to take a decision against us, but the government has been acting against the people. It is only with this kind of pressure that the government can change its ways and the people are allowed to live freely,” he added.