Following a meeting with Thorsten Bargfrede, Head of Political, Trade and Communications Section of the delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka and Maldives and EU representatives, Prasanna Ranatunga, Minister of Industry, Export, Investment Promotion, Tourism and Aviation, claimed that the European Union’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus tax concessions to Sri Lanka will continue until 2023 and there would be no change to the related observation process.

GSP+ tax concession is mostly granted to the garment industry in the country and 60 percent of Sri Lanka’s garment exports go to EU member countries. The garment industry represents about 43 per cent of the country’s total exports and earns around $5 billion to the country annually. Noting that EU investors were keen on investing in Sri Lanka, Bargfrede requested for a resumption of flight services by the Sri Lankan Airlines to EU countries.