EU Council, Parliament strike deal on revised GSP regulation

The new framework adds improvements like stronger links to respect for human rights and the environment, and a better monitoring and transparency of the scheme to the current system.

As called for by the Council, a new link between the trade preferences granted to beneficiary countries and their cooperation on migration and the readmission of their nationals illegally present in the EU is introduced.

Key elements of the provisional agreement include readmission and safeguards for sensitive imports.

The revised GSP framework maintains the three main strands of support of the current scheme, standard GSP, GSP Plus and Everything but Arms (EBA), with several improvements.

The improvements include respect for more international conventions on human and labour rights, an urgency procedure for the rapid withdrawal of preferences in case of violations of the principles of these conventions and possible withdrawal of GSP benefits in case of serious and systematic violations of the principles of the conventions on climate change and environmental protection.

Countries that will stop being considered as least developed countries (LDCs) in the next decade and are receiving the broadest EU support from GSP’s EBA arrangement can still benefit from generous tariff preferences via GSP Plus support if they commit to strong sustainability standards.

The share of imports in a specific sector beyond which a standard GSP country temporarily loses preferences will be lowered by 10 per cent from 57 per cent now to 47 per cent. The aim is to focus better on preferences on less competitive products and create more opportunities for other GSP beneficiaries, in particular the LDCs.

The revision introduces a specific process to ensure that the cumulation of rules of origin responds to the requesting country's development, financing and trade needs.

The new rules improve the monitoring and implementation of GSP Plus commitments.

As a part of the work to create a more fair and effective approach to migration, the co-legislators also agreed that GSP preferences may be withdrawn if a beneficiary country does not co-operate with the EU on the readmission of their own nationals.

Henceforth the Commission will monitor compliance with readmission obligations and have the possibility to act. To ensure transparency, the Commission will have to inform the Parliament and the Council when such decisions are made.

The agreement includes provisions for reintroducing duties in case of sudden and significant rises in imports from a beneficiary country to protect EU producers.

The agreement focuses on specific safeguard measures on textiles and ethanol imports. These safeguard measures would apply to GSP and GSP Plus countries, but would not apply to EBA countries.

Furthermore, the safeguard measures would only apply if the value of these imports from the country concerned exceeded 6 per cent of the value of total EU imports of the product concerned and 47 per cent of the imports of all GSP beneficiaries.

The provisional agreement will now be endorsed by the Council and the Parliament, before being formally adopted. The legislation will apply from January 1, 2027.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)