Partnerships for the Goals
Executive summary
The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) scheme is a voluntary trade measure implemented by developed countries that provide an advantageous, or “preferential”, tariff treatment to imports from developing countries. Different national GSP schemes were introduced following a resolution adopted at the second session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 1968. The scheme is expected to contribute to developing countries’ export growth particularly in the manufacturing sector.
Note
The Debt Management and Financial Analysis System (DMFAS) Programme is largely financed thanks to the generous support of bilateral donors. Currently, these are France, Germany, Ireland, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Switzerland and the European Union.
Acknowledgments
The study was prepared, under the supervision of Miho Shirotori, Acting Director, Division on International Trade and Commodities of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), by a team composed of Taisuke Ito, Mesut Saygili, Ebru Gokce-Dessemond and Federico Manto. A background paper was prepared by Ben Shepherd, UNCTAD consultant.
Conclusion and the way forward
Five decades since its inception, the effectiveness of GSP schemes and their contribution to sustainable development are still in the spotlight. The study aimed to shed light on some of the key features and issues of the GSP schemes by using the preferential trade data available in the UNCTAD’s GSP Database for the Quad economies for the 2004–2018 period.
Introduction
This edition of International Trade Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean covers 2022 and is divided into three chapters. Chapter I examines recent developments in global and regional trade amid the conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, record-high inflation rates, the global economic slowdown, geopolitical tensions and the difficulties faced by China in containing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The recovery in the regional goods trade in 2021 continued in 2022, albeit with weaker momentum and driven mainly by higher prices for several of the region’s main export commodities, especially oil. The recovery in the regional trade in services has been slower than that of the trade in goods, although it accelerated in 2022 owing to the gradual reactivation of tourism. The outlook for world trade in 2023 is not favourable, given the persistence of the conflict in Ukraine, the tightening of monetary policies, the energy crisis in Europe, and the resurgence of the pandemic in China. The region will not be immune to these external shocks, and therefore a marked slowdown in exports can be expected in 2023. In these difficult conditions, it is urgent to advance in the creation of a large and stable regional market that generates efficient scales of production and fosters intraregional production linkages.