TASHKENT, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Uzbekistan has been accepted as a beneficiary country to the European Union (EU)'s Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP) Plus scheme, Uzbekistan and the EU said on Friday.
The EU will start applying preferential tariffs for products imported from Uzbekistan under this arrangement from April 10, providing an opportunity for Uzbekistan to significantly increase its exports to the EU and increase the competitiveness of its domestic goods in the European market.
The scheme removes import duties from products coming into the EU market from vulnerable developing countries if they assume certain burdens and responsibilities.
"The acceptance of Uzbekistan as a beneficiary of GSP+ reflects the recognition of reforms undertaken by the government, in particular to improve the business climate, the judicial system, security services, labour conditions, and administrative accountability and efficiency," the European Commission said in a statement.
Uzbekistan has been enjoying basic benefits from the scheme, but upgrading its status will now allow the Central Asian country to raise the number of commodity items it can export to the EU without import duties from its current amount of 3,000 to 6,200, Uzbek officials said. Enditem