KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 (Bernama) -- Malaysian exporters will benefit fromthe new European Union (EU) Generalised System of Preferences (GSP)scheme, said Herve Jouanjean, deputy director-general of the EuropeanCommission's External Relations Directorate General.

"We are now revisiting our GSP scheme. This new system which is expectedto be adopted by July 1, will allow Malaysian products which had been inthe past graduated (without benefits anymore), will again benefit fromthis preferences," he told reporters, here Wednesday.

Jouanjean, who is on a two-day official visit to Malaysia, held seniorlevel talks with his Malaysian counterpart on issues of mutual interest,particularly economic relations and cooperation.

Malaysia is also expected to get easier market access through a unilateralreduction of import tariffs under the GSP scheme.

"All products, with the exception of palm oil, will fully benefit from theGSP. So this is a very big improvement," Jouanjean said.

"We give the exporters a better treatment through GSP, however, we are notthe market forces," he said, adding that the business would depend on thequality of products.

On Malaysia's environment, he said most European companies here were veryappreciative of the quality of the local business environment.

Meanwhile, the Ambassador and head of the European Commission Delegationin Malaysia, Thierry Rommel said the EU has become the top investor inMalaysia for the last five years.

This reflects the strong confidence EU companies have in the country, hesaid.

-- BERNAMA