Pakistan faces a precarious battle to secure its place in the European Union's successor trade scheme after the bloc's ambassador warned that GSP+ preferential access "cannot be taken for granted." The EU's Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) — a programme granting developing countries reduced tariffs in exchange for upholding international standards on human rights, labour rights and governance — is set to expire at the end of 2025, with a two-year transition period running to December 2028, though Islamabad cannot assume automatic continuation. A European Commission assessment released in July cited regression in areas including enforced disappearances, freedom of expression, minority rights and forced labour, raising the prospect of partial or full suspension of benefits that were worth nearly €732 million in tariff exemptions to Pakistan in 2024 alone, covering roughly 90 percent of its exports to the EU.