Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 552/97 temporarily withdrawing access to generalized tariff preferences from Myanmar/Burma

The Generalised Scheme of Tariff Preferences (GSP scheme) is part of the European Union's common commercial policy, in accordance with the general provisions governing the European Union's external action.

Council Regulation (EC) No 732/2008 of 22 July 2008 applying the current GSP scheme provides that the preferential arrangements provided for in this Regulation may be withdrawn temporarily, in respect of all or of certain products originating in a beneficiary country, for the serious and systematic violation of principles laid down in fifteen out of the twenty-seven international conventions listed in its Annex, on the basis of the conclusions of the relevant monitoring bodies. The relevant conventions also cover core labour rights such as forced labour.

Myanmar/Burma's access to the GSP tariff preferences was temporarily withdrawn by Council Regulation (EC) No 552/97 due to routine and widespread practice of forced labour, confirmed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), in a special procedure of its Commission of Inquiry.

Since 2011, Myanmar/Burma has been undertaking a historic programme of openness and reform as acknowledged by the Council of the EU in its Conclusions of 23 April 2012. On 13 June 2012, the International Labour Conference (ILC) lifted restrictions which excluded the Government of Myanmar/Burma from receiving ILO technical cooperation and assistance, and suspended for one year the ILO request to its members to review their relationships with Myanmar/Burma to ensure forced labour is not being used in those relationships. Accordingly, the violations cannot be any longer considered as "serious and systematic" and thus the tariff preferences should be reinstated according to the current GSP Regulation.

EUR-Lex: COM(2012)524: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2012:524:FIN

European Commission: COM(2012)525: Report from the Commission to the Council pursuant to Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 552/97 with respect to the forced labour in Myanmar/Burma http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2012:0525:FIN:EN:PDF

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