The World Trade Organization has endorsed a proposal by the European Commission to grant duty-free status to the imports into the European Union of 75 categories of products coming from Pakistan, including sports shoes, anoraks and many types of garments, because of the damage caused to the country by extensive floods two years ago. Euratex and other organizations are lobbying to water down the proposed measures, which have yet to be approved by the European Council. They point out that the EU's imports of textiles and clothing from Pakistan increased by 13.6 percent to €2.6 billion in 2010, making the country the sixth-largest foreign source of these types of products. Imports of clothing alone from Pakistan rose by a further 27 percent in the first nine months of 2011.

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