EU a step closer to extending GSP for 10 more years

The updated rules, passed with 459 votes in favour, 127 against and 70 abstentions, allow vulnerable developing countries to export goods to the European Union (EU) with low or no tariffs.

The European Parliament recently adopted the renewed regulation on the generalised system of preferences (GSP).
The updated rules allow vulnerable developing countries to export goods to the EU with low or no tariffs.
Once formally adopted by the Council, the legislation will be signed and published in the official Journal of the EU.
It will then enter into force and apply for a period of 10 years.

Several international human rights and environmental conventions have been added to the list of international treaties that participating countries must ratify to benefit from trade preferences. These include the Paris Agreement, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, according to an official release.

Parliament members managed to include a series of stricter criteria that will need to be fulfilled before GSP countries see their preferential tariffs withdrawn for continued non-cooperation on the readmission of irregular migrants.

These criteria include a longer evaluation procedure and mandatory engagement of at least 12 months with the countries concerned. There will also be a two-year delay for the least developed countries in the application of the readmission conditionality.

Once formally adopted by the Council, the legislation will be signed and published in the official Journal of the EU. It will then enter into force and apply for a period of 10 years.

The GSP has been the EU’s preferential trade arrangement with developing countries since 1971. It offers developing countries reduced duties when exporting to the EU with the aim of eradicating poverty, promoting sustainable development, and better integrating these countries in the world economy.

The GSP system covers more than 60 countries and 2 billion people around the world.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)