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CIAO DATE: 04/06
GSP in the “Spaghetti bowl” of Trade Preferences
Arne Melchior
September 2005
Abstract
In debates about globalisation, trade with developing countries is high on the agenda. Although domestic consequences of liberal trade policies is still a controversial issue, there is more acceptance that market access for developing countries is ‘development friendly’. In the WTO this is the reason why member countries are allowed to deviate from the ‘most favoured nations’ principle and grant developing countries preferential access to their markets. Through the ‘Generalized System of Preferences’, GSP, member countries in the WTO are allowed to grant better trade conditions for developing countries than for other members. Such improved trade conditions can be given on objective criteria only. Norway for instance, grants developing countries better market access on many goods and zero tariffs on imports from the least developed countries. Improved market access for developing is an important demand from the developing countries in the Doha negotiations in the WTO. In this note we present Norway’s imports from developing countries.
The note is a part of NUPI’s study of the Norwegian GSP system.
