A European Union summit on Thursday expressed a "firm commitment" to give Pakistan an "immediate and time-limited" trade boost as a way to help the country recover from devastating floods. In a deal struck by foreign ministers and endorsed by heads of state, Pakistan was promised a so-called World Trade Organization (WTO) waiver, involving a temporary, unilateral drop in tariffs on some key exports - mainly textiles, according to dpa. The move is expected to generate millions of euros' in extra income for Pakistan, but met with initial resistance from key EU states, including Italy and France, which feared that the concessions could be exploited by emerging powers such as China and India. In a bid to allay those concerns, EU summit conclusions stressed that the measure would be applied "exclusively" to Pakistan and would be applied while "taking account of industrial sensitivities in the EU." The text specified that the tariff reduction would be carried out "in conformity with WTO rules," after the European Commission had warned that the legality of the move could be challenged by Pakistan's trade competitors. The commission, the EU's executive, was asked to report next month on exactly what products are to be included in the WTO waiver. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the verdict should "hopefully" be delivered before the Friends of Diplomatic Pakistan meeting, a high-level conference due to be held in Brussels on October 15. EU leaders also agreed on a longer-term pledge to bring Pakistan into the EU's special trade benefits regime, known as GSP+, in 2014, sources said. The package of trade concessions was welcomed by Oxfam, a non-governmental organization (NGO). "An immediate reduction of tariffs on key imports to fill the gap until Pakistan can be made eligible for special trade measures under GSP+ is what the country desperately needs to get back on its feet," said Elise Ford, Oxfam's EU affairs director. The deal came after intensive negotiations, as Britain and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton pushed for generous measures.
