Beneficiaries 

• The General GSP targets developing countries that are classified by the World Bank as lower or lower-middle income countries and do not have a preferential access to the EU market through another arrangement 

Duty Reduction 

• General GSP beneficiary countries can benefit from duty suspension for non-sensitive products and duty reductions (3.5 percentage points) for sensitive products across approximately 66 per cent of all EU tariff lines 

Graduation Mechanism 

• A beneficiary country ceases to benefit from preferential market access for a specific product group if EU imports of such products become too competitive and exceed the threshold of 57% (Textiles: 47.2%, Plants/Oils: 17.5%) for three consecutive years. The list of graduated product sections is reviewed by the EU every three years. 
• A beneficiary country graduates from the arrangement if it benefits from other preferential market access with the EU of is classified by the World Bank as high- or upper-middle income country in three consecutive years.