ArmInfo.From January 1, 2022, Armenia will cease to be a beneficiary of the EU's GSP + system of trade preferences. In this regard, various opinions were voiced about what consequences await Armenian producers with the termination of the GSP + regime.
In particular, a study by the German Economic Team consulting company says that as a result of the exclusion from the GSP + system of trade preferences, Armenia will lose 20% of its exports to the EU or about $ 114 million only next year. However, the Ministry of Economy believes that the effect will be short-term, and only for those enterprises that did not have time to reformat their work due to the expected changes.
According to Deputy Minister of Economy of Armenia Arshak Aslanyan, which he voiced during an interview with Civil.net, the most tangible exit from the EU trade preferences regime will be for aluminum producers. However, according to him, this is not only due to the GSP + regime. The Deputy Minister noted that aluminum is constantly exposed to some kind of external shocks. In this regard, he pointed to the sanctions from the United States and the EU. At the same time, Aslanyan noted that the Ministry is now trying to ease the situation for aluminum producers in terms of logistics schemes. In particular, according to him, we are talking about renting and launching a ferry across the Black Sea next year, which will make it possible to significantly reduce the cost of supplies. In addition, the deputy head of the department sees an opportunity in the export of aluminum to the EAEU market.
"At this stage, we are ready to a certain extent. I do not think that this, (withdrawal from the GSP + regime), will lead to the closure of businesses, since the demand for goods is high, many markets are open. On the contrary, business must increase production volumes, and I think it will, "he stressed. From January 1, 2022, Armenian exporters will no longer be able to take advantage of the GSP + regime of trade preferences of the European Union. The EU Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) is a customs incentive system that allows low- and lower-middle-income countries to export more than 6,200 items to the EU market at zero or reduced customs duties. Armenia has been using this regime since January 1, 2009.
At the same time, systems of preferences (GSP) will continue to operate for Armenia in such developed countries as the USA, Canada, Switzerland, Japan and Norway, in addition to this, Armenia also has a free trade regime with Ukraine, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Moldova and Georgia.
