The government of Pakistan is trying to negotiate with the European Union to get Generalised System of Preferences-plus status for Pakistan which will help exporters to compete in European markets.

In this regard, a booklet and a documentary have been prepared for European Union. Zafar Mahmood, Federal Secretary for Commerce, at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) said that war on terror was affecting industrial sectors of the country and was one of the major factors which were adding up to the cost of manufacturing and doing business. Eighteen factors had been identified including tangible and intangible factors which were adversely affecting the trade.

He said European and American buyers were pressurizing Pakistani suppliers to shift their manufacturing units to other places in order to ensure continuous and timely supply. He said exporters should share such type of information so the government could take up the issue because closure of any textile industrial unit would lead to unemployment and that in turn would create more terrorists.