EU GSP revision: efficient and realistic safeguards are needed to alleviate poverty, diversify production and build up sustainable economies in beneficiary countries

EU footwear manufacturers call for a transparent EU GSP scheme that alleviatespoverty and builds up sustainable economies based on diversified production as aresult of the implementation of efficient and realistic safeguards.

The current EU Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) Regulation 978/2012 will expire at the end of 2023. In September 2021, the European Commission published the proposal for the post-2023 scheme. In this paper, the European Confederation of the Footwear Industry (CEC) outlines its recommendations and concerns to equip the future GSP Regulation with the adequate tools and measures to ensure the diversification of exported products from the GSP beneficiary countries.

The CEC recognises that the GSP Regulation is an instrument designed to help developing countries eradicate poverty, create jobs, diversify the economy and promote their economic and social development. The revised GSP scheme should also align with the objectives of the renewed EU trade strategy “Trade Policy Review – An Open, Sustainable and Assertive Trade Policy” and with the EU Industrial Strategy, especially taking into account the identified ecosystems. Both the EU Member States and developing countries need a scheme of preferences that supports the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, contributes to poverty eradication and encourages exports diversification.

In view of the upcoming debates on the Commission proposal for a revised GSP Regulation, EU footwear manufacturers call for:

I. Effective protection of human and labour rights as well as of the environment

II. Export diversification: a top priority for a successful GSP scheme

• The potential of the revised GSP system in contributing to poverty eradication is not fully exploited without having export diversification as the main objective
• A product graduation mechanism reducing beneficiary countries’ dependency on a few products and stimulating economic growth
• A responsive automatic safeguard mechanism extended to cover footwear imports into the EU from GSP and GSP+ beneficiary countries that will ultimately foster export diversification and economic growth

III. Effective enforcement, transparency and monitoring

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