The world's 48 poorest countries will be able to export all goods - except armaments - to the European Union without paying duty or facing quotas, under a blueprint unveiled in Brussels yesterday. The European Commission's "everything but arms" proposals would open the door to bananas, sugar and rice in stages over three years but all other duties and quotas would be ended in a single move.

Mr Pascal Lamy, EU Trade Commissioner, yesterday hailed the "ground-breaking" proposals as an example for other developed countries to follow. However, the Commission must now persuade the EU's member governments to back its plan, and there will be strong lobbying against a deal by farm groups.

Earlier this year, the EU agreed with its partners in the Quad group of big trading nations the US, Japan and Canada to a tentative offer of free access to "essentially all" products from all least developed countries (LDCs).