Press Release: Focusing on needs: the EU reshapes its import scheme for developing countries

The European Commission plans to concentrate its import preferences on those developing countries most in need. It will limit its Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), with which it grants specific tariff preferences to developing countries in the form of reduced or zero tariff rates or quotas, to approximately 80 countries to take into account the emergence of more advanced developing countries which are now globally competitive.

At the same time the Commission seeks to encourage more countries to respect core international conventions on human rights, labour standards, environment and good governance in the GSP+ scheme which grants additional trade concessions for trade-vulnerable countries.

European Commission: Memo/11/284: More benefits from preferential trade tariffs for countries most in need: Reform of the EU Generalised System of Preferences http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/11/284&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

European Commission: Speech/11/323: Karel De Gucht, European Commissioner for Trade, "Remarks at the press conference on the review of the Generalised System of Preference"s Press Conference on the GSP review Strasbourg, 10 May 2011 http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/11/323&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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