IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/soueco/v14y2013i2p293-316.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

GSP+ Removal and the Apparel Industry in Sri Lanka

Author

Listed:
  • Ashani Abayasekara

Abstract

The withdrawal of GSP+ concessions granted by the European Union in August 2010 could bring about important implications for Sri Lanka’s apparel industry, which is heavily dependent on the European market for its exports. A particular concern is the lack of an international level-playing field, with many of Sri Lanka’s competitors having preferential access to European countries. In this context, the study analyzes the current impact of GSP+ withdrawal on the Sri Lankan apparel industry, possible future impacts and means of mitigating negative impacts and moving forward. An empirical analysis indicates that the GSP+ scheme has been central for apparel exports in penetrating the EU market, with the utilization rate averaging at 72 per cent over the 2005–2010 period and declining thereafter. While interviews carried out with stakeholders in the apparel industry reveal diverse viewpoints, the study concludes that the apparel industry remains highly vulnerable to the loss of GSP+ concessions and proposes several strategies in moving forward.

Suggested Citation

  • Ashani Abayasekara, 2013. "GSP+ Removal and the Apparel Industry in Sri Lanka," South Asia Economic Journal, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, vol. 14(2), pages 293-316, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:soueco:v:14:y:2013:i:2:p:293-316
    DOI: 10.1177/1391561413500177
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1391561413500177
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/1391561413500177?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Janaka Wijayasiri, 2007. "Utilization of Preferential Trade Arrangements: Sri Lanka's Experience with the EU and US GSP Schemes," Working Papers 2907, Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade (ARTNeT), an initiative of UNESCAP and IDRC, Canada..
    2. Suwendrani Jayaratne & Deshal De Mel & Dharshani Premaratne, 2011. "Utilization of Trade Agreements in Sri Lanka: Perceptions of Exporters vs. Statistical Measurements," Working Papers 9611, Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade (ARTNeT), an initiative of UNESCAP and IDRC, Canada..
    3. Keck, Alexander & Lendle, Andreas, 2012. "New evidence on preference utilization," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2012-12, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    4. Gasiorek, Michael & Holmes, Peter & Rollo, Jim & Wang, Zhenkun & Gonzalez, Javier Lopez & Parra, Maximiliano Mendez & Maliszewska, Maryla & Paczynski, Wojtek & Cirera, Xavier & Willenbockel, Dirk & Fo, 2010. "Mid-term Evaluation of the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences," Conference papers 331999, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Prema-chandra Athukorala & Raveen Ekanayake, 2014. "Repositioning in the Global Apparel Value Chain in the Post-MFA Era: Strategic Issues and Evidence from Sri Lanka," Departmental Working Papers 2014-17, The Australian National University, Arndt-Corden Department of Economics.
    2. Shah Mehmood WAGAN, 2015. "Export boost of textile industry of Pakistan by availing EU’s GSP Plus," Journal of Economics Library, KSP Journals, vol. 2(1), pages 18-27, March.
    3. Wagan, Shah Mehmood, 2015. "Export boost of Textile Industry of Pakistan by availing EU’s GSP Plus," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 1(1), pages 18-27.
    4. Prema†chandra Athukorala & Raveen Ekanayake, 2018. "Repositioning in the global apparel value chain in the post†MFA era: Strategic issues and evidence from Sri Lanka," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 36(S1), pages 247-269, March.
    5. Jayatilleke S. Bandara & Athula Naranpanawa, 2015. "Garment Industry in Sri Lanka and the Removal of GSP Plus by EU," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(9), pages 1438-1461, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hamanaka, Shintaro, 2013. "A note on detecting biases in assessing the use of FTAs," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 24-32.
    2. Amin, Mohammed Nafeez Al, 2015. "Implications of TTIP and TPP on Bangladesh and Nepal," Asian Business Review, Asian Business Consortium, vol. 5(1), pages 7-12.
    3. Felbermayr, Gabriel & Teti, Feodora & Yalcin, Erdal, 2019. "Rules of origin and the profitability of trade deflection," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    4. Kazunobu Hayakawa & Fukunari Kimura & Nuttawut Laksanapanyakul, 2018. "Measuring the usage of preferential tariffs in the world," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 154(4), pages 705-723, November.
    5. HAYAKAWA Kazunobu & JINJI Naoto & MATSUURA Toshiyuki & YOSHIMI Taiyo, 2019. "Costs of Utilizing Regional Trade Agreements," Discussion papers 19054, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    6. Emanuel Ornelas, 2016. "Special and Differential Treatment for Developing Countries," CESifo Working Paper Series 5823, CESifo.
    7. Hayakawa, Kazunobu & Nuttawut, Laksanapanyakul & Shiino, Kohei, 2013. "Some practical guidance for the computation of free trade agreement utilization rates," IDE Discussion Papers 438, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    8. Kazunobu Hayakawa & Nuttawut Laksanapanyakul, 2017. "Impacts of common rules of origin on FTA utilization," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 75-90, January.
    9. Gnutzmann-Mkrtchyan, Arevik & Henn, Christian, 2018. "Peeling away the layers: Impacts of durable tariff elimination," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 259-276.
    10. Hayakawa, Kazunobu & Kim, HanSung & Nuttawut, Laksanapanyakul & Shiino, Kohei, 2013. "FTA utilization : certificate of origin data versus customs data," IDE Discussion Papers 428, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    11. Dzmitry Kniahin & Jaime de Melo, 2022. "A Primer on Rules of Origin as Non-Tariff Barriers," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-23, June.
    12. Sandra Polaski, 2022. "The strategy and politics of linking trade and labor standards: an overview of issues and approaches," Chapters, in: Handbook on Globalisation and Labour Standards, chapter 11, pages 203-225, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Jaime DE MELO & Ben SHEPHERD, 2018. "The Economics of Non-Tariff Measures: A Primer," Working Papers P212, FERDI.
    14. Hayakawa, Kazunobu & Kim, HanSung & Yoshimi, Taiyo, 2015. "FTA in international finance : impacts of exchange rates on FTA utilization," IDE Discussion Papers 494, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    15. Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm & Iyer, Harish, 2021. "Effect of Aid for Trade and Foreign Direct Investment Inflows on the Utilization of Unilateral Trade Preferences offered by the QUAD countries," EconStor Preprints 238211, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    16. Hayakawa, Kazunobu & Kim, Han-Sung & Yoshimi, Taiyo, 2017. "Exchange rate and utilization of free trade agreements: Focus on rules of origin," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 93-108.
    17. Hayakawa, Kazunobu & Yoshimi, Taiyo, 2016. "Gravity with multiple tariff schemes," IDE Discussion Papers 614, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    18. Kuo‐I Chang & Kazunobu Hayakawa & Nuttawut Laksanapanyakul & Dionisius Narjoko & Ju Hyun Pyun & Francis Quimba, 2022. "Determinants of regional trade agreement utilisation: Evidence from multiple import countries in Asia," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(6), pages 1713-1736, June.
    19. Azmeh, Shamel, 2015. "Transient global value chains and preferential trade agreements: rules of origin in US trade agreements with Jordan and Egypt," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 64601, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    20. Escaith, Hubert & Tamenu, Bekele, 2013. "Least-Developed Countries' Trade During the "Super-Cycle" and the Great Trade Collapse: Patterns and Stylized Facts," MPRA Paper 51997, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Apparel industry; European Union; GSP+ concessions; preferential access; utilization rate;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • F53 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Agreements and Observance; International Organizations

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:soueco:v:14:y:2013:i:2:p:293-316. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.ips.lk/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.