The Hon. Sajith Premadasa - Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition urged the Government to pursue country-specific trade arrangements despite the general lapse of GSP benefits, citing the Multi-Fibre Arrangement concessions linked to the “200 Garment Factories Programme” as precedent. He proposed establishing a specialised Sri Lanka Trade Representative and team to conduct government-to-government negotiations, and offered his side’s expertise on a pro bono basis.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Minister, while GSP lapsed for all, history shows that special arrangements are possible through state-to-state negotiations. Under the “200 Garment Factories Programme,” Sri Lanka benefited under the Multi-Fibre Arrangement with enhanced quotas unmatched by others, enabling 200 rural garment factories. We should pursue bespoke government-to-government understandings. For that, a specialised Sri Lanka Trade Representative and team are essential. We can offer our expertise pro bono.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Wednesday, 19 March 2025 ·No. 1748499233099643 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
- Page · column
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/lk/speeches/25200
Cite as: The Hon. Sajith Premadasa - Leader of the Opposition. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 19 March 2025. No. 1748499233099643. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/25200