Trade arrangements
The EU has special trade arrangements in place in support of developing countries.
Generalised System of Preferences (GSP)
The EU offers its current GSP to low and lower middle income countries. The scheme gives partial or full elimination of EU tariffs for a wide range of products entering the EU market.
Generalised System of Preferences Plus (GSP+)
The GSP+ is a special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance. It reduces EU import customs tariffs to 0% for vulnerable low and lower-middle-income countries that implement 27 international conventions on human rights, labour rights, protection of the environment and good governance.
Everything but Arms (EBA)
The EBA scheme is a special arrangement for least developed countries (LDCs), granting full duty-free and quota-free access to the EU Single Market for all products except arms and ammunition.
Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA)
EPAs are trade and development agreements between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries – designed to facilitate integration of the ACP countries into the world economy through gradual trade liberalisation and improved trade-related cooperation.
Market Access Regulation (MAR)
MAR provides duty-free and quota-free access to the EU market for products originating in ACP countries that have concluded an EPA pending ratification.
Other specific trade arrangements include:
European Economic Area (EEA)
The EEA brings together the 27 EU member states and three European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries — Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway in the EU Single Market, ensuring the free movement of goods, services, people and capital, as well as a common set of related policies (competition, transport, energy, economic and monetary cooperation).
Customs Unions
The EU is part of three customs unions
The customs unions provide for the free movement of goods between the two parts of the customs union, alignment of external tariffs, harmonised commercial policy measures, common standards and mutual assistance in customs matters, as well as cooperation in other areas.
Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs)
OCTs are not part of the territory of the European Union but are constitutionally linked to three of the Member States (Denmark, France and the Netherlands). The EU grants unilateral trade preferences to all products originating in the OCTs, in order to promote their economic and social development, as well as to establish close economic relations between them and the Community as a whole.