To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he expects transitional agreements to be available to countries not ready to sign up for an economic partnership agreement by 1 January 2008. (175733)

35 countries from the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group signed up to an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) before the end of 2007. These countries now receive duty free quota free access for their products into the EU. Of the countries which did not agree an EPA, 32 are classified as Least Developed Countries (LDCs) which makes them eligible for the Everything But Arms scheme (EBA) which provides for duty free access into the EU on all products except for arms. 10 other countries can utilise the Generalised System of Preferences scheme (GSP) which is available to all developing countries and provides for a reduction in the standard rate of duty for products entering the EU. These schemes were already in existence and so these countries have been able to utilise them since the beginning of this year.

The UK continues to work with the European Commission and ACP Governments to ensure that these agreements benefit regional integration and deliver for development.