EU Trade Commissioner publishes White Paper on EU preferential trade access programmes

Today at 17.15 EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson will present to the European Parliament's Trade Committee the Commission's first White Paper on the effectiveness of the EU's preferential trading access programmes for developing countries. The White paper - entitled "Opening the door to development" - is the first of the annual assessments Commissioner Mandelson committed to producing for the European Parliament on March 17 2005. The White paper will examine the extent to which developing countries benefit from market access to the EU and assess those areas in which market access could be improved, or where developing countries can be assisted to take advantage of existing market access through capacity building and trade development assistance.

Historically, Europe has been the most open and most important market for exports from developing countries, especially the countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific regions. For the 50 Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Europe extends the Everything But Arms (EBA) programme, which will allows duty and quota-free access for almost all products.

Today's White Paper will assess the current state of market access to the EU for developing countries and the effectiveness of programmes like EBA. It will identify not only the extent to which Europe's markets are open, but the ways in which we can use Europe's trade development assistance to help poorer countries build the trading capacity to make the most of the openness we offer.

By capturing the 'state of play' for the EU's Trade and Development policy, it will provide a crucial context for the review of the European Union's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), its ongoing Economic Partnership Agreements with ACP regions and the development ambitions of the Doha round of multilateral trade negotiations.

The White Paper will be made public when it is presented to the European Parliament.

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• Commissioner Mandelson - Remarks to the Trade Committee of the European Parliament  (23/5/2005)
• Speech by Commissioner Mandelson: Tilting the global balance: Asia's new trade growth (29/4/2005)