Parliament and Council negotiators have reached a provisional agreement to update the European Union’s generalised scheme of tariff preferences (GSP), a trade arrangement that offers reduced or zero tariffs for goods imported from vulnerable developing countries. The revised rules aim to strengthen the requirements for participating countries, including new obligations to ratify international human rights and environmental conventions such as the Paris Agreement, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The agreement introduces stricter criteria before preferential tariffs can be withdrawn from GSP countries that do not cooperate in readmitting irregular migrants. This “readmission conditionality” now includes a longer evaluation process and at least 12 months of mandatory engagement with affected countries. For the least developed countries, there will be a two-year delay in applying these new migration-related conditions after the regulation takes effect.
Negotiators also addressed concerns about protecting sensitive sectors within the EU, specifically rice production. Under the new rules, automatic safeguards will be triggered if rice imports from any third country exceed certain volumes.
Bernd Lange (S&D, DE), Chair of the Committee on International Trade and rapporteur, stated: “This is great news for more than two billion people in over 60 countries. They will benefit for another 10 years from the low or no tariff preferences granted unilaterally by the EU. The agreement sends them a clear message: in these times of growing geopolitical tension, rising nationalism, and protectionism, the EU is committed to being a trustworthy and durable partner.
The agreement is also a boost to multilateralism: the regulation aims to be fully World Trade Organisation-compatible and it promotes the ratification and implementation of international conventions that will advance fundamental workers’ rights and environmental standards. Transparency and civil society engagement are also key. Parliament ensured that plans to ensure effective implementation of international conventions by GSP beneficiary countries will be public.
Two issues weighed on the negotiations: the readmission conditionality and the rice safeguards. On readmissions, Parliament believed that trade and migration were best kept separate. Council moved considerably to meet Parliament’s concerns, creating a balanced system with clear guardrails and a differentiated system for least developed countries. Parliament will have full access to documents in the procedure so that we can ensure the new mechanism is used in a proportionate manner. On rice safeguards, we now have a system that will be triggered automatically in the event of excessive volumes of rice imports from third countries.”
Before entering into force, both Parliament and Council must give their final approval to this provisional deal.
The GSP has been part of EU policy since 1971 as an instrument aimed at reducing poverty, supporting sustainable development, and integrating developing nations into global markets. It currently covers over 60 countries representing more than two billion people worldwide.
