Generalized system of preferences

	WT/COMTD/N/6/Add.5
	17 June 2013
(13-3132)		Page: /
Committee on Trade and Development		Original: English

Notification by Norway

The following communication, dated 13 June 2013, is being circulated at the request of the Delegation of Norway.

1.1.  The Norwegian Government has made several improvements to its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) with effect from 1 January 2013.

1.2.  In 2011, the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) carried out a study of Norway’s GSP.¹ In the first half of 2012, an inter-ministerial working group made their recommendations regarding a revised GSP scheme. These were endorsed by the Government, and the Parliament made the necessary decisions as part of the State Budget for 2013. The working group’s report is available in English. ²

1.3.  Norway’s GSP has been revised several times since it was established in 1971. Some amendments were introduced 1 January 2008,³ when the provision establishing duty-free and quota-free market access (DFQF-MA) to Norway for all goods from the 50 Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) was extended to include 14 Other Low Income Countries (LICs) with a population of less than 75 million.

1.4.  The main rule is that countries entering into a free trade agreement (FTA) with Norway are to be withdrawn from the GSP scheme.

1.5.  The most extensive change under the recent revision is to establish a new category of GSP recipients: Lower Middle Income Countries and territories (LMICs) based on the list of OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC)⁴ with a population of less than 75 million. This group, which in this context is named “GSP plus”, is granted more preferential market access than ordinary GSP recipients. One of the intentions behind the establishment of the “GSP plus” group is to soften the transition for countries graduating from an income group in which they had DFQF MA to Norway, to an income group in which ordinary GSP preferences applied until the recent revision. Granting of DFQF-MA remains limited to LDCs as well as LICs with a population of less than 75 million.

1.6.  The following groups of countries and territories are now represented in Norway’s GSP scheme⁵:

Ordinary GSP:

• 
  Upper Middle Income Countries and territories (UMICs)
  
• 
  LMICs with a population exceeding 75 million
  

• 
  LMICs with a population of less than 75 million
  
• 
  LICs with a population exceeding 75 million
  

• 
  All LDCs
  
• 
  LICs with a population of less than 75 million
  

1.8.  The Government’s review of preferences granted led to the following decisions:

Lower Middle Income Countries and Territories with a population of less than 75 million (“GSP plus”) are granted the following:

• 
  Duty-free access for all industrial goods
  

• 
  Improvement of tariff preferences for agricultural goods:
  

• 
  Duty-free access for an additional 49 tariff lines (selected flowers, cuttings, vegetables, fruits, oils and preserved vegetables).
  

• 
  50% tariff reduction on 15 tariff lines.
  

1.9.  For ordinary GSP recipients, the following improvements are made:

• 
  Preferences on administratively reduced tariffs on cereals and soy bean oil cakes for animal feed are increased from 10 to 20%.
  

• 
  Duty-free access for fish oil for animal feed.
  

• 
  A duty-free quota for molasses has been established.
  

• 
  Existing quotas for preserved ham, beans and green beans are made more flexible.
  

1.10.  For more details, see the Directorate of Customs and Excise website⁶ and the Norwegian Government’s website.⁷

This table shows countries that are eligible for Norway’s GSP. Countries marked with * are Least Developed Countries (LDCs) or treated as LDCs. Countries marked with + are GSP+.

Countries that are a part of the Norwegian GSP-system, but have not yet presented their stamps to the Norwegian customs, are shown in this table. Countries marked with * will benefit from LDC treatment.