The decision was made at a meeting of European Union foreign affairs ministers in Brussels on July 23.

The new GSP regulation will replace the current three-year GSP plan set to expire at the end of 2008.

According to the summary unveiled at the meeting, GSP preferences will be re-established for six beneficiary countries and suspended for Vietnam as a result of the calculations made on trade data for the period 2004-2006.

Vietnam’s items include footwear, headwear, umbrellas, parasols and artificial flowers.

Under GSP rules, any country whose exports account for 15 percent of the total gross export revenues of all GSP beneficiaries is considered to have reached a level of competitiveness sufficient to warrant discontinuation of GSP benefits.

The final decision was made by the EC Council on July 23.

Among the products exported to the block is footwear which is one of Vietnam’s leading earners on the European market.

According to the EC Delegation to Vietnam, the country’s footwear exports to the EU accounted for 19 percent of the total footwear exports shipped from GSP beneficiary countries during the 2004-2006 period. These figures led the EC to consider removing Vietnam from the list of GSP nations.