Navigating the Impact of Environmental Conditionality of the EU Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (EU GSP+) Regime in Pakistan

Under the auspices of the EU Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), non-trade objectives, such as environmental concerns, are closely linked to promoting sustainable development and reforms in developing countries. This chapter investigates the impact of the European Union’s conditionalities through the GSP Plus on Pakistan. An analysis is conducted through the theoretical prism of ecological Marxism, and ecological unequal exchange provides a basis for thinking in terms of ecological repercussions on the compliance and the exporting textile sector. Based on the 15 semi-structured interviews and document analysis, the findings illustrate that the unilateral conditionality mechanism perpetuates dependent relations on the EU for increasing market accessibility, which structurally locks Pakistan into exporting cheaper textiles and clothing, while overlooking ecological sustainability, impacting compliance, and green technological exchanges in the industry. With growing market access to European markets, the environmental cost of industrial production expands, reflecting the externalization of environmental harm. Asymmetries and differential ecological impacts among large textile conglomerates and SMEs are a matter of concern, undermining the essence of GSP+ sustainability due to differential capacities to adapt to the exigent GSP obligations in terms of compliance and green technology.