EVENT | GSP+ Business Engagement Workshop in the Philippines
03 January 2021
The GSP Hub is hosting its sixth and final beneficiary country workshop in the Philippines on 26 January 2022 in a fully virtual format. The GSP+ Business Engagement Workshop in the Philippines will serve as an opportunity to engage in dialogue and build relations with local and international stakeholders. The workshop will be organised as a business-focused event aiming to facilitate and encourage the exchange of local experiences, knowledge, and best practices with the EU’s GSP+. The workshop will reinforce awareness of the benefits and opportunities the GSP+ provides for the business community and offers a platform to discuss how Filipino stakeholders can further maximise the advantages of the arrangement, e.g. with regards to less prominent sectors and persisting utilisation gaps. Finally, this workshop aims to identify and discuss areas and strategies for further economic diversification.
EVENT | EBA Engagement Workshop Senegal
18 October 2021
The GSP Hub is hosting its fifth beneficiary country workshop in Dakar, Senegal on 08 November in a hybrid format. The workshop aims to increase awareness of EBA benefits among Senegalese stakeholders and provides a forum to discuss avenues for intensification and diversification of exports to the European Union under the EBA. Speakers from the side of the European Commission will highlight the differences between the EPA and the EBA, emphasise the importance of sanitary and phytosanitary standards, and present sustainable and circular economy approaches in the agricultural sector as a way to increase the competitiveness of Senegalese products. Sector representatives will introduce participants to additional potential in the agricultural and fisheries sectors, which already take good advantage of EBA preferences, and will emphasise the potential for diversification in the textiles, pharmaceutical, and ICT sectors. Join the discussion in-person at the Radisson Blu Dakar Sea Plaza or virtual through Zoom. The workshop will be held in French. Simultaneous interpretation is available for online participants.
EVENT | GSP Engagement Workshop Congo-Brazzaville
22 September 2021
The fourth beneficiary country workshop will take place in Congo-Brazzaville on 13 October in a hybrid format. Join the discussion on how Congo could take greater advantage of the Standard GSP and learn more about focus sectors for export diversification. The workshop is dedicated to supporting Congolese stakeholders from the business sector, public officials as well as civil society to maximise the benefits of the Standard GSP.
EVENT | EU-Pakistan Business Forum (external)
06 September 2021
On 8 September the EU Delegation to Pakistan hosts the first EU-Pakistan Business Forum. The event targets Pakistani SMEs with an interest in exporting to the European market and aims to discuss trade opportunities, market potential, as well as avenues to strengthen bilateral trade. The event will also provide further details on the GSP+ arrangement and how stakeholders can benefit from the arrangement. The focus sectors of this inaugural business forum are gems, jewellery and mining, information technology, handicrafts and fashion-wear and travel and tourism. Interested participants can follow the event live through Facebook, please click on the link below.
EVENT | EBA Engagement Workshop Lao PDR
23 August 2021
Join us for the third beneficiary country workshop in Lao PDR. The workshop is dedicated to supporting Lao stakeholders from the business sector, public officials as well as civil society to maximise the benefits of the 'Everything But Arms' (EBA), which is part of the EU's Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP). The event will raise awareness of EBA benefits and provide a forum to discuss how Lao stakeholders can further leverage the advantages of the arrangement..
EVENT | GSP Engagement Workshop Uzbekistan - Report
12 July 2021
The GSP organised the GSP Engagement Workshop Uzbekistan as a hybrid event, which took place physically in the International Hotel in Tashkent and online through Zoom on 24 June 2021. The overall objective of the workshop was to introduce Uzbek stakeholders to the GSP+, as well as to discuss opportunities and requirements of the arrangement. The workshop targeted business stakeholders and public officials and provided a platform to discuss rules of origin requirements, preference margins, and export potential of Uzbek products. At the same time, the workshop also aimed to involve civil society by highlighting avenues to engage in the GSP+ monitoring process and to discuss the relationship between business and values with a particular focus on labour rights. In total 82 participants took part in the workshop physically and virtually.
EVENT | GSP Engagement Workshop in Uzbekistan (hybrid)
01 June 2021
As of 10 April 2021, Uzbekistan is part of the GSP+ which grants its beneficiaries duty-free access to the EU market for about 66% of tariff lines contingent on the ratification and effective implementation of 27 core international conventions. The GSP engagement workshop is dedicated to supporting Uzbek stakeholders from the business sector, public officials as well as civil society to maximise the benefits of the GSP+. The workshop will inform participants how the new relationship between the EU and Uzbekistan under the GSP+ will function in practice and offers the opportunity to take part in several Q&A sessions. Click on the link for more details.
STORY | Benefits of the GSP+ and challenges ahead of the scheme
17 May 2021
Mr Meyer-Resende, Executive Director of Democracy Reporting International reflected on his past experiences with the GSP+ scheme and shared a few takeaways with the GSP Hub team. Democracy Reporting International (DRI), a Berlin-based NGO with offices in eight countries, promotes democratic governance around the world and provides policy advice on that matter with a focus on institutional aspects of democracy, namely elections, parliaments, constitutions, and democracy standards. DRI worked for three years with numerous actors in all GSP+ partner countries under EU-funded projects.
POLICY BRIEF | The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism: how to make it work for developing countries
07 May 2021
The EU intends to introduce a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) by the end of 2021. While the exact design is not yet known, the CBAM would see a charge levied at the border, proportionate to the carbon emitted during the production of imported goods. The EU’s proposed CBAM risks unfairly penalising the exports of developing countries. While all countries should accept responsibility for tackling a shared global threat such as climate change, it is unreasonable to expect poorer countries to shoulder the same burden as those that are richer and have historically contributed a larger share of cumulative carbon emissions. Click below to read a policy brief on the interrelation of a CBAM and the EU's GSP by Sam Lowe, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for European Reform.
NEWS | Sri Lanka at GSP Engagement Week virtual conference
21 April 2021
Read this summary article published in the 'Daily Mirror' by Dr Darayatna Silva, former Ambassador to the WTO, on key issues discussed at the opening of the GSP Engagement Week and their importance for Sri Lanka as a beneficiary of the GSP+ and learn more about the trade relationship between the EU and Sri Lanka.
Event | GSP Engagement Workshop
03 February 2021
Join us for the virtual GSP Engagement Week from 22 - 25 March 2021! Let's discuss the interplay between the economic rationale and the values perspective of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences. Some of the questions we would like to address include: how can the GSP help economic diversification, what kind of opportunities does it present for EU producers, and how can civil and environmental targets be achieved in beneficiary countries.
NEWS | Bangladesh scheduled to graduate from the LDC group in 2026
03 March 2021
The Committee for Development Policy of the UN (CDP) recommended Bangladesh’s graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category at the second triennial review, held from 22 to 26 February 2021. Once more, Bangladesh met the required thresholds across all three criteria which include the per capita gross national income (GNI), the economic vulnerability index (EVI), and the human assets index (HAI). At the same time, the CDP acknowledged the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and extended the preparatory period from three to five years. Bangladesh is scheduled to graduate from LDC status in 2026. Read more in this article from The Daily Star.
NEWS | UN Committee for Development Policy expects long-term effects of COVID-19 on LDCs
02 March 2021
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has spread less rapidly in Least Developed Countries (LDC’s), the socio-economic impact on these countries is much more severe. The impact is felt most by LDC’s dependent on tourism and fossil fuel exports. Economic recovery is impeded by limited fiscal space. The UN Comittee on Development Policy (CDP) expects a long-term impact on health systems and education in these countries as well as deferred or even reversed progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals. The CDP recommends, inter alia, to extent the preparatory period for all countries recommended for graduation in 2021. Click below to read a summary of the latest briefing by the UN Committee for Development Policy.
STORY | The Role of the GSP in EU-Armenia Cooperation
08 January 2021
Since 2014, Armenia is a beneficiary of the Special Incentive Scheme for Sustainable Development and Good Governance (GSP+) granted by the European Union. Read this story on how the GSP+ impacted EU-Armenian trade relations and contributed to improving Armenian people’s rights and quality of life.
OPINION | Human Rights Watch: Uzbekistan Not Even Close to Meriting EU's Trade Scheme
16 December 2020
In June, Uzbekistan officially applied for GSP+ beneficiary status. This arrangement not only grants more favourable duty reductions compared to the General GSP but comes with the condition to ratify and implement 27 international conventions on human and labour rights, environmental protection, and good governance, incentivising sustainable development. The European Commission has already examined the application and believes Uzbekistan is ready for GSP+. Read this opinion piece contributed by Human Rights Watch and share your views - is Uzbekistan ready for this next step?
STORY | A more sustainable textile and denim industry in Pakistan
14 December 2020
After 2014, when Pakistan acceded to the GSP+ a small boom took place in the textile and denim industry. By now, textiles have become the largest product section imported under the GSP+ arrangement, comprising more than 70% of Pakistan’s GSP imports to the EU. Read the story of Mayoral Moda Infantil, a spanish producer of children's clothing.
STORY | The sports goods industry and diversification in Pakistan
14 December 2020
Pakistan’s GSP+ success story is particularly visible in the city of Sialkot, the capital of the country’s sports industry. About 98 per cent of products manufactured in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises located in the city are exported to foreign markets. “These industries – particularly the sports goods industry – have been an important source of Pakistan’s foreign exchange earnings,” says Mr Arshad Javad Sandal, Chairman of the Pakistan Sports Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
STORY | Civil society and human rights education in Mongolia
11 December 2020
The Globe International Center is a Mongolian NGO committed to improve the access to public information to support the development of an active civil society. The Globe International Center has formed a “3 Cs Support Group” as a core group to provide professional support and assistance to stakeholders involved in the GSP+ scheme and the relevant human rights-related commitments made by beneficiary countries under the GSP+.
INTERVIEW | EU CTEO Underscores Role of Business & Civil Society for Effective GSP
07 December 2020
We sat down virtually with the new Chief Trade Enforcement Officer Denis Redonnet and talked about his new position and its implications for the EU's trade & values agenda and the Generalised Scheme of Preferences. Mr Redonnet was appointed Chief Trade Enforcement Officer in July 2020, a new position created under Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
WTO NEWS | Germany and Estonia pledge 815,000 € to help poorest countries expand role in world trade
07 December 2020
On 3 December, Germany and Estonia have pledged 815,000 € to the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), a programme which supports Least Developed Countries to better use trade for sustainable development and poverty reduction. The funds will be used to address new challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
EVENT | Join the virtual Bangladesh-Netherlands Investment Summit
04 December 2020
Are you an economic operator from the Netherlands or the EBA beneficiary Bangladesh? Take the opportunity and join this webinar series organised by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in the Netherlands, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). Three webinars on the 8th and 9th December 2020 will bring together industry leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators and policymakers from the Netherlands and Bangladesh. Stakeholders will present and discuss opportunities and consider the specific scope for engagement in trade and investments between Dutch and Bangladeshi companies. Click on the link below to for a detailed agenda and registration.
REPORT | GSP Stakeholder Forum
30 September 2020
On 29 September the inaugural Stakeholder Forum of the Action on GSP Trade Preferences took place in a hybrid format. A small number of participants gathered at the Charlemagne Building while all interested participants were able to follow the panel discussions online. The topics that were discussed included the role of the GSP for a post-pandemic recovery, the GSP's relevance and potential for Africa, and the promotion of sustainable development in Central Asia.