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| Sunday, 24 February 2002 |
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GSP Scheme and Regional Cumulation A national seminar on the European Union's GSP Scheme and Regional Cumulation will be organised by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka in association with SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) on Feb. 26 at Jaic Hilton Tower. Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Ravi Karunanayake is expected to inaugurate the seminar. In 1964, the UNCTAD (United Nations Committee for Trade and Development) discussed ways and means of granting special trade preferences to developing countries. As a result of these discussions, it was recommended to create a Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) under which industrialised countries would grant autonomous and non reciprocal trade preferences to all developing countries. The European community was the first to implement its own GSP in 1971. From the beginning the GSP was conceived as a autonomous trade policy instrument providing development-oriented preferences. This concept was reinforced in recent years. Over time, the EU scheme underwent many considerable changes. Since 1995, it has done away with any quantitative limitations, taking on board one of the most prominent requests of the beneficiary countries. The SAARC region has been given the facility of cumulative rules of origin under the EU-GSP Scheme. In terms of this, inputs originating in any of the SAARC member states that are further worked or processed will also count as originating in that particular beneficiary country claiming the GSP benefit is greater than the highest customs value of the inputs originating in any one of the SAARC countries. Ever since the facility was granted to the SAARC region, SAARC Secretariat has been receiving queries from representatives of business and industry, seeking clarifications on technical and operational details of the scheme. with a view to creating awareness of this facility and also providing a good understanding of the scheme and the facilities that it offers the SCCI Secretariat has been in consultation with the European Commission to organise a series of seminars under the EC-SAARC memorandum of understanding. The EC has now nominated two experts Mr. Mike Humphrey and Ms. Fiona Carmichael who are travelling around the region, holding consultations and seminars with the member governments and in particular with the member federations of SCCI. They will make presentations on the GSP regulations and GSP rules of origin and regional cumulation. These seminars are expected to benefit the business sector, government officials, customs officials, freight forwarders, shippers and clearing agents. |
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