EU leaders meeting in Brussels today (16 September) have agreed to grant Pakistan a temporary reduction of duties on certain exports to help the country deal with the aftermath of floods that have affected more than 20 million people.

The specifics of the scheme remain to be determined, and it is unclear at present how much worth it might be. The member states also asked the European Commission to consult other members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) – whose approval is required – and to present a final proposal next month.

WTO waiver

A WTO waiver on specific exports from Pakistan could face opposition from other countries that export the same products.

EU trade ministers had failed to agree specific measures on Friday. Several member states, including France, Italy and Portugal, opposed the measures, for fear of competition – especially in the textile sector – or on procedural grounds. According to a diplomat, a meeting of member states’ security ambassadors in Brussels yesterday dragged on well into the night and ended without agreement. A French representative said at the meeting that the security ambassadors should not be involved in policymaking on trade matters.

Karel De Gucht, the European commissioner for trade, is currently visiting Brazil and Argentina (13-17 September).

The United Kingdom and Germany are among the main supporters of trade measures to help Pakistan. A spokesman for David Cameron, the UK prime minister, said that Pakistan was “strategically important for the EU”.

“The EU needs to think about how it can effectively project its values and interests internationally and that means dealing with an issue like trade with Pakistan,” he said. “The stability and prosperity of Pakistan is something which concerns us all.”

He said that Cameron last night discussed the matter with Commission President José Manuel Barroso. The UK government argues that a long-term plan for economic reform would be far more beneficial to Pakistan than aid.

The leaders also agreed to support Pakistan in seeking inclusion in a programme known as GSP+, which grants trade concessions in exchange for compliance with various human-rights and labour standards.

Scaled-up support

The United Nations says that, to recover from the floods, Pakistan will need “massively scaled-up donor support” in the coming months. The UN will publish a new plan tomorrow. The funding needs set out in the United Nations’ initial emergency plan have been meet to 74%, the UN’s humanitarian office said on Tuesday. Most of that aid has been used to provide food, shelter, and water and sanitation in the affected regions.

Today’s summit was supposed to deal mainly with the EU’s “strategic partnerships” with countries such as China and India. Pakistan was mentioned only in passing in the invitation letter that Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, sent to EU leaders ahead of the summit.

The EU has committed more than €240 million in emergency aid to Pakistan, with the UK and the European Commission the biggest contributors, with around €70m each.