Ranil Rejected Mahinda’s Claim on GSP +

The Prime Minister while  addressing the beneficiaries of the Gajasamaragama Housing Scheme in Lunugamwehera yesterday  rejected Mahinda Rajapaksha’s claimed  that  Sri Lanka would have been better without the GSP Plus facility.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe proved  his mettle by mentioning  revenue earned  through  GSP+  in the past.

He said Sri Lanka had earned US dollars 2,500 million from the export of apparel in 2003. “Sri Lanka lost GSP Plus in 2015 and it had earned US dollars 4,800 million in 2015. However, Bangladesh, which enjoyed GSP Plus all along, had earned US dollars 26, 000 million in the same year. “Bangladesh has no balance of payments problem but we do,” he said.

He  further said yesterday that it would help the country to capture a market with a population of 500 million