The European Union has added 15 developing countries to its list of preferential trading partners that enjoy reduced- or zero-duty access on their exports to the bloc, the European Commission said on Wednesday.
Eleven Latin American countries will qualify under the EU's new Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), it said. They are: Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.
Georgia, Moldova, Mongolia and Sri Lanka were also included.
In a statement, the EU executive quoted EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson saying the move was "further proof of the EU's efforts to help developing countries at the same time as promoting sustainable development and human rights".
The EU's new GSP system, drafted last year to ensure that the world's poorest nations benefit most, is due to enter into force on January 1 and remain unchanged until the end of 2008.
The system grants beneficiary countries either duty-free access or a tariff reduction on their exports to EU markets. Around 7,200 products will be covered under the new GSP.
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