WASHINGTON, USA - Washington has removed 12 products from six countries benefiting under a duty free export program for developing economies, officials said Tuesday.

They included preserved mackerel from Thailand, certain aromatic and non aromatic drugs, zinc tubes or pipes and auto parts from India, a form of polyethylene from Indonesia and railway parts from Ukraine, a statement from the US Trade Representative (USTR) office said.

It said the '12 products from six beneficiary countries are now sufficiently competitive in the US market to no longer need GSP treatment.'

The administration also granted Egypt's request to add frozen uncooked potatoes and frozen spinach to the list of products under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program.

The GSP Program in 2008 facilitated 31.7 billion dollars in imports of nearly 5,000 types of products from 131 developing countries, the USTR office said.

The United States will also issue waivers that will prevent 112 export items from 16 beneficiary countries from being excluded from the program because they exceed statutory import ceilings, officials said.

'Expanded trade with the world's developing countries is critical to boosting their growth, reducing income inequality, and providing people with hope for the future,' USTR Ron Kirk said.

'This is a difficult time for everyone in the global economy and it creates particular difficulties for those living in developing nations,' he said.