Sri Lanka to lose GSP + if death sentence implemented

Colombo, August 14 (Daily Mirror) - The Government’s proposal for the re-introduction of capital punishment will have a direct bearing on its lobby to retaining the GSP+ trade facility when exporting to countries in the European Union (EU) which has traditionally opposed it.

The decision was announced by the President’s Media Division (PMD) after a meeting chaired by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake last Monday.

The EU, in its latest GSP+ review report on Sri Lanka covering the period between 2023 and 2025, states 'Has the Court continued handing down the death sentence, despite the de facto a moratorium on executions since 1976?'"

“Although Sri Lanka has observed a de facto moratorium on executions since 1976, the courts continue handing down the death sentence, and the Ministry of Justice reported 817 persons on death row in September 2025,” the report states.

In 2005, the European Union created GSP+ (Generalised System of Preferences Plus), a special incentive arrangement offering zero tariffs on most exports from vulnerable developing countries that ratify and effectively implement 27 international conventions. Sri Lanka has been a beneficiary of this scheme. Currently, the country is not in a position to lose it, given the dire consequences this could have for export growth.

According to the European Union’s GSP+ review of Sri Lanka covering the period 2023–2025, EU imports from Sri Lanka declined from EUR 3.2 billion in 2022 to EUR 2.6 billion in 2024, corresponding to an average annual decrease of 8.4%. EU imports from Sri Lanka represented 0.11% of the EU’s total imports in 2024.

The EU’s latest assessment shows that Sri Lanka’s use of GSP+ preferences declined in 2023 before recovering in 2024. Imports of GSP+-eligible products fell from EUR 2.7 billion (about US$3.1 billion) in 2022 to EUR 2.2 billion (US$2.5 billion) in 2023 and remained at EUR 2.2 billion (US$2.5 billion) in 2024.

The new regulations for GSP + will be in force starting next year. However, the current beneficiaries such as Sri Lanka can apply for qualification under the revised criterion before December 31, 2028.