Trade unions welcome new EU trade preferences
system

ICFTU on-line 10 December : The European Union has made an important move to
boost development and at the same time ensuring the respect of basic
workers' rights, according to the International Confederation of Free Trade
Unions (ICFTU) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).

On 10 December, the General Affairs Council of the European Union
(EU) approved the new EU Regulation for its Generalised System of
Preferences (GSP) trade system for 2002-04.

The ICFTU General Secretary, Bill Jordan stressed that: "The new
system will ultimately mean that if dictatorial governments use a repressive
model of production that achieves cheap exports by exploiting basic workers'
rights, then they will lose their trade benefits in European markets".

"The new system provides increased trade benefits for developing countries,
and at the same time it includes the stipulation that the GSP could be
withdrawn in cases of "serious and systematic" violations of any of the core
labour standards (including trade union rights, the elimination of child
labour, non-discrimination, and the prohibition of forced labour)",
emphasised Emilio Gabaglio, ETUC General Secretary.

The new GSP, first proposed by the European Commission in June, also
provides for extensive monitoring of the observance of core labour standards
in countries like Colombia over the period 2002-04 and beyond, and the
incorporation of discrimination into the GSP on an equal footing with the
other core labour standards. These elements have further been welcomed by
the trade union movement.

For more information, please contact the ICFTU Press Department on +32 2 224
0232 or the ETUC Press Department on + 32 24 30.

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