Armenian exporters to the European Union saved around EUR 8,7 million in 2016 thanks to GSP+.

EEAS Adviser on Trade Issues and Business Coordinator Guus Houttuin shared that statistics with the press today. Mr Houttuin leads the first visit of GSP+ monitoring mission to Armenia.

“The visit should monitor if Armenia fulfills in various sectors the commitments, undertaken by the international conventions, in exchange for the benefits of the system. The sectors include workers’ rights, environment protection, honest management, and human rights,” said Guus Houttuin.

He informed the mission members already had meetings with civil society and international organizations, as well as unions of employees and employers. They also held a discussion with the government today, where the listened to MPs opinions and concerns.

“Of course, we learned about concerning issues, but I have to note that none of the 9 countries in GSP+ is perfect,” the EU representative said.

In that regard, he pointed out three main problems in Armenia: lack of proper system of workers’ rights protection, lack of common legislation for prevention of and the fight against domestic violence, as well as issues relating to independent and efficient judicial system.

When asked if Armenia’s membership in the EAEU had any influence on the GSP+ benefits provided to the country, Guus Houttuin replied that Armenia received those benefits in an individual, independent way, and without any demand for entry to Armenian market.

“This system is an additional opportunity for Armenia as a proof of its European commitments,” he stressed.

Policy Officer at European Commission, DG TRADE (GSP+ coordination) Julika Peschau noted that recent years saw increase both of the number and total turnover of the goods exported by Armenian business people with usage of GSP+.

“Armenia has been using GSP+ benefits since 2009. In 2014, the system underwent reforms, and if we compare periods before and after 2014, we’ll see that the export tariff lines in GSP+ grew by 8%. That index shows that more exporters used the system and exported more diverse products to the EU,” Julika Peschau said.