Argentina loses EU preferential import scheme

The EU has issued today its revised import preference scheme - known as the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) - for developing countries most in need which will take effect from 1 January 2014, revealing that Argentina will no longer benefit.

Following agreement with the Council and European Parliament, today's publication contains the specific tariff preferences granted under the GSP in the form of reduced or zero tariff rates and the final criteria for which developing countries will benefit. The new scheme will be focused on fewer beneficiaries (89 countries) to ensure more impact on countries most in need.

At the same time, more support will be provided to countries which are serious about implementing international human rights, labour rights and environment and good governance conventions.

Argentina is listed as an upper-middle partner as it’s one of the countries which have been listed by the World Bank as high or upper middle income economies for the past three years, based on Gross National Income (GNI) per capita.

The rest of the upper-middle partners who will also lost benefits are: Brazil, Cuba, Uruguay, Venezuela; Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan; Gabon, Libya, Malaysia, Palau.

"I am delighted that EU Member States and Members of the European Parliament have backed the Commission's proposal to make our preferential import scheme more effective. It was an important recognition that key developing economies have become globally competitive. This now allows us to tailor our pro-development trade scheme to give the countries still lagging behind some additional breathing space and support." said EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht.

The current GSP scheme will remain valid until 1 January 2014, thus giving economic operators time to adapt to the revised regime.

The Council and the European Parliament built on the Commission's proposal by introducing a wider though limited expansion of products and preferences, a longer transition period for the application of the new GSP, and by expanding specific safeguards to include ethanol and plain textiles.

Beneficiaries in the reformed GSP scheme are expected to start with 89 beneficiaries: 49 least developed countries in the Everything But Arms scheme, and 40 other low and lower-middle income partners:

The main country categories which will no longer benefit from the GSP scheme are 33 overseas countries and territories. These are mainly EU territories which have their own market access regulation—and thus do not use GSP to enter the EU. Reform will be in general neutral for them. And 34 countries which enjoy another trade arrangement with the EU which provides substantially equivalent coverage as compared to GSP. This includes countries with a Free Trade Agreement or with autonomous arrangements (such as the Market Access Regulation for countries with an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) or the special regime for Western Balkan countries). Given that use of GSP is marginal for these countries, reform will in general be neutral for them.