§ Mr. FaberTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress he has made during the presidency of the EU on reaching agreement on amendments to the General System of Preferences. [33394]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonTwo proposals have been under discussion to extend the coverage of the General System of Preferences (GSP)
one, to bring product coverage of the GSP scheme closer to that available to the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group under the Lome Convention. There is EU agreement to this, subject to a Parliamentary Scrutiny reserve by France;the other, to grant additional market access preferences to those countries which comply with the principles of relevant International Labour Organisation and/or International Tropical Timber Organisation standards. We hope to have EU agreement on this by the end of April.During our Presidency, we also expect the Commission to produce proposals for a mid-term review of the existing GSP industrial and agricultural schemes. We shall be seeking to improve the market access benefits available under both.