BANGKOK, 7 June 2011 – The European Union (EU) has agreed to extend the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) privileges for Thailand for another two years until 31 December 2013 before they expire at the end of this year.
According to Department of Foreign Trade (DFT) Deputy Director-General Surasak Riangkrul, the EU announced the GSP privilege extension for Thailand on 31 May 2011 under the provision of the Regulation (EU) No 512/2011. The announcement will be effective from 20 June 2011 onwards.
The extension was made since the EU is working on a draft regulation for new GSP projects, and the process will not be finished in time to replace the current GSP regulation to expire at the end of this year.
The EU granted GSP privileges for the first time in 1971 to 176 developing nations which benefited from such privileges as duty exemption and tariff reduction, in order to help increase their potentials in export, production, investment and economic growth.
The GSP privileges granted by the EU are very important for the Thai exports. Thailand last year utilised the GSP for goods exported to the EU worth over eight billion baht, or 60% of the goods eligible for the privilege.
The GSP extension is expected to benefit many Thai exports such as auto products, logistics, eyeglass lens, and air conditioners. The DFT hence will publicise the issue and encourage entrepreneurs to utilise the privileges for their business operations to the fullest extent.
