View source for Everything but Arms

{{Short description|EU trading arrangement}}
[[Image:Least Developed Countries Map New.svg|thumb|375px|{{legend|#FF0000|[[Least developed countries]] (designated by the UN as of 2023)}}{{legend|#FFCC00|Former least developed countries}}]]
'''Everything but Arms''' ('''EBA''') is an initiative of the [[European Union]] under which all imports to the EU from the [[least developed countries]] are [[Duty (tax)|duty]]-free and [[Import quota|quota]]-free, with the exception of [[armaments]]. EBA entered into force on 5 March 2001. There were transitional arrangements for [[banana]]s, [[sugar]] and [[rice]] until January 2006, July 2009 and September 2009 respectively. The EBA is part of the EU [[Generalized System of Preferences]] (GSP).<ref>Therefore the legal text can be found in the GSP regulation, art 12 and 13.</ref> The up-to-date list of all countries benefiting from such preferential treatment is given in Annex IV of the consolidated text of Regulation (EU) 978/2012.<ref>{{Cite web|date=25 October 2012|title=REGULATION (EU) No 978/2012 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL|url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:02012R0978-20200812&from=EN|access-date=28 September 2020|website=eur-lex.europa.eu}}</ref>

The aim of the scheme is to encourage the [[Economic development|development]] of the world's poorest countries.

[[Samoa]], having graduated from LDC status in 2014 (becoming instead a [[developing country]]),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sdg.iisd.org/news/un-ohrlls-announces-samoa-to-graduate-from-ldc-status/|title=UN-OHRLLS Announces Samoa to Graduate from LDC Status|last=Ashton|first=Melanie|date=2012-06-02|website=IISD's SDG Knowledge|access-date=2018-09-18}}</ref> was removed from the list of EBA beneficiaries on 1 January 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2017/july/tradoc_155840.pdf|title=GSP EBA country list|website=European Commission|access-date=2018-09-18|archive-date=2018-01-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128004820/http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2017/july/tradoc_155840.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On January 16, 2019, the [[European Commission]] decided to re-introduce import duties on rice from [[Cambodia]] and [[Myanmar]]. This was done because imports of Indica rice from both countries combined had increased by 89% in the five previous rice-growing seasons. At the same time, the prices were substantially lower than those on the EU market and had actually decreased over the same period. This surge in low-price imports has caused serious difficulties for EU rice producers to the extent that their market share in the EU dropped substantially from 61% to 29%.<ref>[http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-427_en.htm "EU imposes safeguard measures on rice from Cambodia and Myanmar"], a press release by the European Commission. Brussels, 16 January 2019. Retrieved 2019-01-21.</ref>

Cambodia lost its EBA status in 2020 over [[Human rights in Cambodia|human rights]] concerns.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Press corner|url=https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/home/en|access-date=2020-12-12|website=European Commission - European Commission|language=en}}</ref>

== History ==
[[GATT]] decision IV.D.3, dating back to 28 November 1979, provided the basis for more favourable treatments of least developed countries.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2015-04-24|title=IV.D.3 GATT DECISION ON DIFFERENTIAL AND MORE FAVOURABLE TREATMENT, RECIPROCITY, AND FULLER PARTICIPATION OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/international-law-and-world-order/ivd3-gatt-decision-on-differential-and-more-favourable-treatment-reciprocity-and-fuller-participation-of-developing-countries-SIM_032466|journal=International Law & World Order: Weston's & Carlson's Basic Documents|language=en}}</ref> The first proposal of an EBA agreement started on 20 September 2000: the [[European Commission]] proposed introducing "duty-free, quota-free access for all products from all least developed countries into the EU".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Berloco|first=Fabrizio|title=IL regime EBA – “Everything But Arms”|url=https://www.fabrizioberloco.com/2020/04/16/gli-accordi-everything-but-arms/|access-date=2020-09-28|language=it-IT}}</ref> The preferential treatment promotes least developed countries (LDC) that, among other things, respect international conventions on human rights; the tariff preferences granted to [[Cambodia]] were recently suspended on some products because of "serious and systematic violations of the human rights principles enshrined in the [[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]]".<ref>{{Cite web|date=11 February 2019|title=Cambodia: EU launches procedure to temporarily suspend trade preferences|url=https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_19_882|access-date=2020-09-28|website=European Commission|language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Free trade]]
*[[European Union]]
*[[Trade and development]]
*[[Common Agricultural Policy]]
*[[World Trade Organization]]
*[[African Growth and Opportunity Act]]
* [[Common System of Tariff Preferences of the Eurasian Economic Union]]
* [[Developing Countries Trading Scheme]]

==Notes==
<references />

==References==
*[https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02012R0978-20200812  Regulation (EU) No 978/2012] of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 732/2008.

==External links==
*[http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2005/june/tradoc_123910.pdf European Union Generalised System of Preference regulation EC No 980/2005] [https://web.archive.org/web/20161213063232/https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2005/june/tradoc_123910.pdf Archived version]
*[http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tradehelp/everything-arms European Commission EU Trade Helpdesk - "Everything But Arms"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119230910/http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tradehelp/everything-arms |date=2019-01-19 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051118162115/http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/issues/trade/opb13_armssugar.htm  Oxfam, December 2000, "Everything but Arms and Sugar?"]

{{Foreign relations of the European Union 2}}

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[[Category: Foreign relations of the European Union]]
[[Category:Customs duty rates by countries and regions]]