EU Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, said on Monday that the European Union will maintain trade preferences for developing countries – in the form of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) – to ensure stability and predictability for traders in the bloc. The EU has said it will adopt a new, improved GSP regulation system for the period January 1, 2009 until the end of 2011, a decision that will grant 176 developing nations preferential access for their goods entering EU markets. The non-reciprocal preference scheme is designed to reduce poverty by stimulating exports. It will be updated to ensure that GSP is targeted at those countries that need it most. The GSP provides real economic value to developing nations, says the EU, with 57 billion euros worth of trade under the scheme for 2007.
Source: Tralac

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