The Impact of the EU GSP Agreement on the Andean Countries' Trade Flows

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the impact of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) agreement on the export from the Andean Community (AC) to the European Union (EU) between the years 1995 to 2000. The GSP agreement enables developing countries to face lower- or no tariffs when exporting to developed countries. According to Ricardian theory, Heckscher-Ohlin theory, and New Trade theory decreased trade barriers tend to have a positive effect on trade. When analyzing the trade flow between these countries using the gravity model the outcome is found to be consistent with the theories i.e the results show that the GSP agreement implemented in 1995 has had a positive impact on trade.