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Trade and Industry Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Brand Hong Kong - Asia world city
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Commercial Information Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref : EIC 230/2/3/2/13

20 June 2003

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 172/2003

European Union (EU)* :Amendment to the Generalised Scheme of Tariff Preferences

Further to Commercial Information Circular No. 11/2002 of 28 January 2002, the Council of the EU (the Council) has published a regulation in the Official Journal of the European Union to update the list of product sectors of those beneficiary economies which are eligible for the preferential arrangements under the Generalised Scheme of Tariff Preferences (GSP) for the period from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2004. A copy of the regulation is attached (pdf format)  to this circular for reference.

DETAILS

  1. Under the GSP, the EU accords tariff preferences to a wide coverage of agricultural and industrial products originating in a total of 179 economies. Such tariff preferences are granted to developing economies to encourage them to increase and diversify their exports. The tariff preferences may be removed in respect of all or certain products originating in a beneficiary economy if that economy, during three consecutive years, meets the economic development criteria for graduation. Conversely, a graduated beneficiary economy or its graduated products would be re-admitted to the GSP if that economy does not meet the economic development criteria for graduation during the following three consecutive years.
     

  2. Based on the statistics for 1997 to 1999, the Council has compiled the list of beneficiary economies and their respective product sectors which are to be removed from or re-admitted to the GSP. Details are set out in the Annexes of the attached regulation. While Hong Kong has been graduated from the GSP since 1 May 1998, the mainland of China continues to be one of the beneficiaries. Yet, the tariff preferences for six Chinese product sectors (viz. edible products of animal origin, plastics and rubber, paper, electro-mechanics, consumer electronics, and optical and clocks) will be removed by 50% with effect from 1 November 2003 and by 100% with effect from 1 May 2004.

ENQUIRIES

  1. For enquiries concerning the contents of this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5351.

Yours faithfully,

(Ricky CHENG)

for Director-General of Trade and Industry

* : The EU includes Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.



  • While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the above information, the Department cannot guarantee this to be so and will not be held liable for any reliance placed on the same.