ECIPE Lunch Seminar: European Trade Preferences for Developing Countries – GSP System Reform
The cornerstone of EU trade policy towards developing countries is the system of tariff preferences. Now that system is under reform, and the European Parliament’s Trade Committee recently affirmed, with some notable revisions, the Commission’s original idea to cut back on the number of countries that are granted preferential access to the EU market. Countries such as Russia, Brazil and Saudi Arabia will be excluded as the number of beneficiaries is slimmed down. It will also shrink the import that now enters the EU at preferential tariff rates, which has prompted critical comments from development agencies.
What are the objectives with the reform – and what should be done to ensure that the GSP reform does not lead to an increasing level of protection for imports to the EU market?
ECIPE welcomes you to lunch seminar with MEP Christofer Fjellner, the European Parliament rapporteur on GSP reforms, who will discuss the case for the reform and present his report.
Comments will be given by Roderick Abbott, a Senior Advisor at ECIPE