the european union is proposing that emerging powers such as china, brazil, india, russia and other countries no longer enjoy preferential eu trade terms.
on may 10, the european union announced that since the economies of emerging powers such as china, russia, and brazil are growing, it will cancel trade concessions enjoyed by those more economically prosperous economies.
according to the announcement, the eu will change the generalized system of preference, or, “gsp”, to reduce the number of beneficiaries of favorable import terms from 176 countries and regions to about 80, but the list has not been finalized. russia and saudi arabia also would lose favored status under the proposal.
overseas media reported that the eu will only provide concessions for countries most in need.
under the “gsp”, eu imports amounted to 60 billion euros (about 86 billion u.s. dollars) in 2009. if the number of the privileged countries is reduced to 80 from 176, the value of eu imports might decline to 380 billion euros, china chemical information net reported.
eu governments and the european parliament have not yet approved the proposal, which, if adopted, would become effective jan 1, 2014
"global economic balances have shifted tremendously in the last decades. those countries most in need must reap the most benefits," eu trade commissioner karel de gucht said on may 12.
according to the world trade organization (wto) provisions, all member countries should impose uniform tariffs on imported products from all trading partners, except for developing countries. china is a member of the wto.
