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Everything but Arms (EBA) is an initiative of the European Union under which all imports to the EU from the Least Developed Countries are duty-free and quota-free, with the exception of armaments. EBA entered into force on 5 March 2001. There were transitional arrangements for bananas, sugar and rice until January 2006, July 2009 and September 2009 respectively. The EBA is part of the EU Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).
Although the EBA program provides for duty-free imports from Least Developed Countries the Rules of Origin, especially pertaining to apparel, severely inhibit imports because all phases of production do not occur within Least Developed Countries.
The aim of the scheme is to encourage the development of the world's poorest countries.