EU Ends GSP for Vietnamese Shoe Imports

Foreign ministers of the European Union (E.U.) member-countries have agreed in a meeting in Brussels July 23 to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for imported Vietnamese shoes from January 1, 2009. 

 

In addition to leather shoes, caps, umbrellas, artificial flowers and some others exported to the block will also no longer enjoy the GSP.

 

The ministers said Vietnam&rsquos leather footwear exports to the E.U. market have accounted for over 15 per cent of total E.U. imports of the same product under the GSP so Vietnam is supposed to have reached a certain competition level and is not necessary to enjoy the preferential tariffs.  

Meanwhile, they supported to ext the GSP for imports from developing countries from January 1, 2009 to the of 2011.

Vietnam expects to export US$10.4 billion worth commodities to the European Union (EU) this year, an on-year rise of 23.5 per cent this year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said. (New Hanoi)