The European Commission and the High Representative have published the fifth and final joint report on the EU's Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) covering the period 2023-2025, detailing that 65 developing countries, including 44 least-developed countries (LDCs), benefited from EU tariff preferences that saved an estimated EUR 5 billion in tariffs in 2024. The report, released on 16 July 2026, notes that EU imports under GSP reached EUR 59 billion in 2024, down from EUR 77 billion in 2022 due to post-COVID normalisation and falling energy prices. Bangladesh (EUR 19 billion), India (EUR 11.7 billion), and Pakistan (EUR 7.1 billion) were the top beneficiaries, with clothing accounting for 59% of all GSP trade.
The report confirms that Indonesia will leave the GSP as of 1 January 2027, while Kenya's GSP will be fully replaced by the EU-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) from the same date. Bhutan transitions to Standard GSP from 1 January 2028, and São Tomé and Príncipe from 1 January 2029. The new GSP Regulation for 2027-2036, adopted on 17 June 2026, will apply from 1 January 2027, adding five new international conventions and the Paris Climate Agreement to the list of required ratifications. Current GSP+ beneficiaries must reapply and submit a Plan of Action, with a transitional period until the end of 2028.
Regarding trade measures, general safeguards on Indica rice from Cambodia and Myanmar were re-imposed in 2024, and special agricultural safeguards on ethanol from Pakistan were imposed in 2025. The report underscores the GSP's impact on trade and sustainable development, while detailing the transition to a stricter regulatory framework with enhanced sustainability and transparency requirements from 2027.
Developing country exporters face both continuity and change; the graduation of Indonesia and Kenya removes their preferences from 2027, while new GSP+ conditions require additional administrative effort. EU importers, particularly in the clothing sector, benefit from continued tariff savings but must adapt to new sustainability compliance. EU producers in sensitive sectors like rice and ethanol gain from safeguard measures that limit competitive pressure. The European Commission and national authorities will oversee the transition, with the new regulation increasing monitoring and reporting obligations.