Optimizing Benefits to Sri Lanka from EU GSP+ and Preparing for the Impending Reforms of the ‘GSP Regulation’

April 25, 2025   Reading Time: < 1 minute

Reading Time: < 1 min read

Sulochana Wijayasinghe

Research Assistant at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKI)

Abstract: The EU’s GSP+ trade concessions offered to Sri Lanka are contingent upon the implementation of 27 international conventions concerning human rights, labour rights, environmental protection, and good governance. While the extension of the GSP+ benefits have been crucial for Sri Lanka in its efforts to revitalise its economy beset by a grave economic crisis in 2022, setbacks in human rights commitments and delays in meeting some international standards have sparked concerns about Sri Lanka’s ongoing eligibility for GSP+. Within the backdrop of an ongoing debate within the EU on the impending reform of the GSP regulation, this policy brief takes stock of the benefits derived by Sri Lanka from the concessions, means to increase its utilization and the challenges faced in retaining it.