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- The Generalized System of Preferences, or GSP, is a formal system of exemption from the more general rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), (formerly, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade or GATT). Specifically, it's a system of exemption from the most favored nation principle (MFN) that obligates WTO member countries to treat the imports of all other WTO member countries no worse than they treat the imports of their "most favored" trading partner. In essence, MFN requires WTO member countries to treat imports coming from all other WTO member countries equally, that is, by imposing equal tariffs on them, etc. GSP exempts WTO member countries from MFN for the purpose of lowering tariffs for the least developing countries (without also doing so for rich countries). The idea of tariff preferences for developing countries was the subject of considerable discussion within UNCTAD in the 1960s. Among other concerns, developing countries claimed that MFN was creating a disincentive for richer countries to reduce and eliminate tariffs and other trade restrictions with enough speed to benefit developing countries. In 1971, the GATT followed the lead of UNCTAD and enacted two waivers to the MFN which permitted tariff preferences to be granted to developing country goods. Both these waivers were limited in time to ten years. In 1979, the GATT established a permanent exemption to the MFN obligation by way of the enabling clause. This exemption allowed contracting parties to the GATT (the equivalent of today's WTO members) to establish systems of trade preferences for other countries, with the caveat that these systems had to be "generalized, non'discriminatory and non'reciprocal' with respect to the countries they benefited (so-called "beneficiary" countries) Countries were not supposed to set up GSP programs that benefited just a few of their "friends. ' From the perspective of developing countries as a group, GSP programs have been a mixed success. On one hand, most rich countries have complied with the obligation to generalize their programs by offering benefits to a large swath of beneficiaries, generally including nearly every non-OECD member state. Certainly, every GSP program imposes some restrictions. The United States, for instance, has excluded countries from GSP coverage for reasons such as being communist, being placed on the U.S. State Department's list of countries that support terrorism, and failing to respect U.S. intellectual property laws. But more significant is that most GSP programs are not completely generalized with respect to products. That is, they don't cover most products, at least most products of export interest to developing countries. And this is by design. In the United States and many other rich countries, domestic producers of "simple" manfuctures, such as textiles, leather goods, ceramics, glass and steel, have long claimed that they could not compete with large quantities of imports. Thus, such products have been categorically excluded from GSP coverage under the U.S. and many other GSP programs. Unfortunately, these excluded products are precisely the kinds of manufactures that most developing countries are able to export. (Most developing countries can not efficiently produce things like locomotives or telecommunications satellites, but they can make shoes. ) Even in the face of its limitations, it would not be accurate to conclude that GSP has failed to benefit developing countries. Rather, it is the case that GSP has benefited some developing countries a lot and others very little. Specifically, for most of its history, GSP has benefited "richer developing" countries, such as Brazil and India, and more recently "Asian tigers" such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia substantially, while providing virtually no assistance to the world's least developed countries, such as Haiti, Nepal, and most countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Notably, during the past decade, a historic change affecting developing countries has occurred within the WTO. Namely, WTO rules have been extended to cover both textiles and agricultural products. For nearly all of the WTO's (and GATT's) existence, which started in 1948, textiles and agricultural products were excluded from WTO/GATT coverage because they were so sensitive to GATT's primary promoters, the United States and Europe. But now that situation has changed. Under new WTO rules, many textiles tariffs and quotas already have been eliminated, and liberalization of trade policy also is occurring on the complex agricultural front. Given that textiles and agricultural products - especially processed agricultural products, such as flour as opposed to wheat - are the main products that many of the world's least developed countries are able to export competitively and lucratively, these and similar changes at the WTO may someday mean that the limitations of GSP programs will be resolved - outside of the rubric of GSP itself.
- GSP-järjestelmän tarkoituksena on antaa kehitysmaille teollisuusmaiden yksipuolisilla päätöksillä sellaisia tullietuja, joita ei anneta teollisuusmaista peräisin oleville tuotteille. EU:n tullietuusjärjestelmän tarkoituksena on edistää kehitysmaiden tuotteiden kilpailukykyä ja markkinoillepääsyä yhteisössä sekä edistää niiden integroitumista maailmantalouteen. Vastaavasti yhteisön maahantuojat hyötyvät edullisemmista tuontihinnoista. GSP-konsepti kehitettiin YK:n kauppa- ja kehityskonferenssin piirissä 1960-luvun lopulla. EU:n ensimmäinen GSP-järjestelmä otettiin käyttöön vuonna 1971. EU:n lisäksi myös muilla teollisuusmailla on omia GSP-järjestelmiä. EU:n uusi GSP-järjestelmä luotiin GSP-asetuksella (no. 980/2005), joka astui voimaan 1. tammikuuta 2006 ja sitä sovelletaan 31. joulukuuta 2008 asti. GSP-järjestelmän hyödynnettävyyttä on uudessa asetuksessa pyritty parantamaan mm. koko järjestelmää yksinkertaistamalla.
- 普及特惠稅制度是世界貿易組織（簡稱世貿，前身為關稅暨貿易總協定）下向發展中地區提供優惠關稅的制度。普及特惠稅制度豁免世貿成員遵守最惠國待遇原則。最惠國待遇原則要求成員給予來自所有其他世貿成員的進口貨同等待遇，也就是向所有其他世貿成員收取劃一關稅。 普及特惠稅制度豁免世貿成員遵守最惠國待遇原則，讓已發展成員減收來自發展中地區的進口貨關稅，但不向已發展地區減收關稅。1960年代，有關制度的構思在聯合國貿易及發展委員會中廣泛討論。當時的發展中國家指出，最惠國待遇未能加快已發展成員減低以至取消關稅的步伐，以使發展中地區受惠。1971年，關稅暨貿易總協定採納聯合國貿易及發展委員會的建議，在最惠國待遇原則中加入兩條豁免條款，針對發展中地區的產品。該兩條豁免條款有效期為10年。到1979年，關稅暨貿易總協定根據授權條款確立最惠國待遇原則中的永久豁免措施。這豁免措施容許關稅暨貿易總協定的締約國（相當於現時的世貿成員）針對其他國家設立貿易特惠稅制，但這些稅制對於各受惠國必須是「普及、非歧視及非互惠的」，不能優待某幾個友好國家。
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