EU's New GSP Takes Effect January 1, 2006 ( GSP Plus Extended to 15 Additional Countries)
According to a European Union (EU) press release and EU sources, on January 1, 2006, the European Commission (EC) implemented a new EU Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for the three-year period of 2006 - 2008.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
(The EU GSP consists of preferential trading arrangements through which the EU extends preferential access to its markets to developing countries and economies in transition.)
EU sources state that the new EU GSP comprises three schemes (instead of the five that were previously in effect), which are described as follows:
General Scheme. According to the EU press release, product coverage increases from about 6,900 to about 7,200 products and incorporates an additional 300 products mostly in the agriculture and fishery sectors, of interest for developing countries. BP has previously stated that under the new General Scheme, duties on non-sensitive products are entirely suspended (except for agricultural components). With respect to sensitive products, the new scheme outlines methods for calculating duty reductions based on the type of duty at issue (e.g. ad valorem, specific, etc.)
GSP Plus (15 countries added). The EU press release and EU sources indicate that GSP Plus, which was originally fast-tracked and implemented on July 1, 2005, continues in effect as provisionally implemented, except that GSP Plus is now extended to the following additional 15 countries:
| Bolivia | Georgia | Nicaragua |
| Columbia | Guatemala | Panama |
| Costa Rica | Honduras | Peru |
| Ecuador | Moldova | Sri Lanka |
| El Salvador | Mongolia | Venezuela |
The press release states that the new GSP Plus scheme is designed for vulnerable countries faced with specific trade, financial or development needs. GSP Plus will cover approximately 7,200 products which can enter the EU duty-free; however, beneficiaries must meet a number of criteria to qualify for these benefits.
"Everything but Arms." According to the EU press release, the EU's "Everything but Arms" scheme remains unchanged and entails giving duty-free and quota-free access for all products (including textiles and apparel) from the world's 50 poorest countries, with the exception of arms and ammunition.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 03/22/05 news, 05032210, for previous BP summary of these three schemes, which includes a list of those countries eligible for the "Everything but Arms" scheme.
See ITT's Online Archives or 06/30/05 news, 05063020, for BP summary of the EU's adoption of the new GSP system, including compromises reached regarding textiles and apparel.)
EU Press Release (IP/05/1678, dated 12/21/05) available at http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/05/1678&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en