Sri Lanka is to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and seek amendments to the Online Safety Act (OSA) in its bid to reapply for the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), which provides preferential duty-free access to the 27-nation European Union (EU) bloc, Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath said, on his official X account.
“I expressed deep appreciation for the EU’s GSP trade facility, which have been vital for Sri Lanka’s economic growth and conveyed our interest in re-applying when the current cycle ends,” Herath said.
In reference to speaking to the Acting Managing Director for Asia and Pacific of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Paola Pampaloni, Herath said that the Sri Lankan Government is pursuing “significant legislative reforms,” which include the repealment of the PTA, and amendments to the OSA.
According to a study by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka’s total export revenues earned from the bloc in 2023 made up 30.08% of total yearly export revenue, with the last known collective sum of export value recorded at $ 3.63 billion, which included exports to the United Kingdom (UK) too.
With its departure from the EU, the UK however has since established its own trade preferential scheme: the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS). Crucially, the EU still remains as the next biggest market for Sri Lanka’s major exports such as ready-made garments and rubber products, third to the United States and the United Kingdom.
Based on export data, roughly around 61% of Sri Lanka’s exports to the EU are covered by the GSP+ concessions. As a country which benefits from the preferential access under the scheme, Sri Lanka is necessitated to implement 27 international conventions, which uphold standards across human rights, labour rights, the environment, and good governance.
The EU has in the past raised concerns over Sri Lanka’s PTA and Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) during its draft stage, which was slated to replace the former in 2024. However, the incumbent government has proposed a draft law of its own called the Protection of the State from Terrorism Act (PSTA).
Sri Lanka briefly lost its GSP+ status in 2010, and was officially reinstated in 2017. Since regaining member status, Sri Lanka’s export revenue to the EU reached a record high in 2021, when it saw $ 4.21 billion in revenue.
Sri Lanka’s export revenues to all five major EU markets saw cumulative year-on-year increases in 2025, with Germany ($ 706.49 million) seeing a 12.45% increase, Italy ($ 679.77 million) with a 14.16% increase, Netherlands ($ 474.8 million) with a 20.63 % increase, France ($ 277.18 million) with a 5.09% increase and Belgium ($ 254.44 million) with a 6.42% increase.