Geneva, 23/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 22 July, the General Affairs/External Relations Council adopted a regulation updating the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) for the EU over the period 2009-2011. By ensuring access to the Community market for manufactured goods and certain agricultural products from the developing country's in return for full or partial exoneration from customs duties, the GSP allows the EU to help these countries in their fight against poverty, by helping them to obtain revenue by means of international trade. Through the updated GSP, which results from the new calculations to reflect developments in international trade, preferences for the specific product groups will be re-established for six GSP beneficiary countries (South Africa, Algeria, India, Indonesia, Russia and Thailand). Preferences will be suspended for one country, Vietnam, for shoes and various other products. These adjustments automatically come into play when the performance of a country on the Community market falls below or climbs above a certain threshold. This procedure follows strict rules and ensures that the advantages of the GSP go to the countries which need them the most. The suspension of the preferences, known as "graduation", reflects the fact that a country is competitive on the Community market for the products in question. In addition to this standard GSP, the EU also offers a special arrangement, "GSP+", to encourage sustainable development and good governance via support in the ratification and implementation of international agreements on human rights, employment rights, the protection of the environment and good governance. (E.H./trans.fl)