BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

22/06/2007

Belarus Criticizes EU For "Short-Sighted" Withdrawal Of Trade Perks

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on June 21 that it expects the EU to restore its trade privileges under the general system of preferences (GSP), Reuters and Belapan reported. The EU's decision to remove Belarus from the GSP, which will result in higher import duties on some 10 percent of Belarusian exports to the EU, took effect the same day. EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson announced the measure last week, saying Belarus is violating the standards of the International Labor Organization (see "RFE/RL Newsline," June 18, 2007). "Belarus fails to understand the European Union's suspension from June 21 of trade privileges," Belarus's Foreign Ministry noted. "It sees the decision as temporary and assumes that objective reality will prompt the EU to reexamine and rescind it soon. This short-sighted step by the EU will, in the first instance, hurt ordinary Belarusian citizens." JM

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2007/06/3-cee/cee-220607.asp