Regaining GSP Plus, a boost to econmoy : PM
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said that regaining the GSP Plus tariff concession will help boost the country’s economy in a significant manner.
The Premier said that with GSP Plus concession Sri Lankan will be able to maximise foreign exchange earnings by tapping into the EU market which consists of 500 million people.
Premier Wickremesinghe was speaking at the opening ceremony of the ANTE LECO company in Bandaragama yesterday.
He also said that Sri Lanka intends to improve its imports to India which has a 1,500 million populace and China which has the worlds largest population. “The country has to get maximum benefit out of this facility,” the Prime Minister said.
“Thapassu, Balluka business siblings who came with The Buddha’s relics would have been chased out of the country had there been an opposition like the one that exist today,when they arrived in the country, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said.
He said those who could do nothing for the country while in power are criticising the good governance government being in the opposition today.
The Prime Minister also said that the government has entered into trade agreements and the production out pot is planned to be exported to the foreign markets.
The Premier added that the government has a plan to increase production while creating more job opportunities and strengthening the economy by exporting the same production.
Power and Renewable Energy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya and Power and Renewable Energy Deputy Minister Ajith Perera also participated at the ceremony.
(Source: Daily News – By Chameera Elladeniya)
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GSP + is available only to low income and lower middle income countries as defined by the World Bank. A country should be in either of the two categories for the last three year period to become eligible for the facility. In terms of this requirement, when a country gains the upper middle income country status, there is a natural exit from GSP +.
According to the World Bank classification, done in 2016, countries with a per capita income of $ 1,025 or less are categorised as low income, those between $ 1,026 and $ 4,035 as lower middle income, countries between $ 4,036 and $ 12,475 as upper middle income countries. Sri Lanka with a GNI per capita of $ 3,836 in 2015 is pretty much close to this threshold of natural exit from the facility. With the current projected growth rates, it will pass the threshold easily by 2018. Since it should be observed for a three-year period, Sri Lanka will have to exit GSP + by 2020. As such, there is only a very brief period of time available for Sri Lanka to enjoy the benefits of GSP +.