The United States government has expanded trade preference benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences to cover about $900 million more imports a year from India, Bangladesh, Brazil, Morocco, Thailand and Uruguay.

President George W Bush has acted on product petitions, either re-designating products or providing waivers for these so that they continue to receive GSP benefits, an official statement said on Tuesday.

The GSP programme, which allows duty-free imports of designated products into the US, aims at creating trade opportunities for developing economies and encouraging broad-based economic development.

It also encourages beneficiaries to reduce trade barriers, toughen laws on workers' rights and child labour, provide effective protection of intellectual property rights and promote the fight against terrorism, the statement said.

More than 140 beneficiary developing countries and territories export products duty-free to the US.

The US Trade Representative, Robert B Zoellick, said trade preference programmes like GSP are an important part of America's global economic leadership.

"Such unilateral one-way programmes should lead us over time to more open, extensive markets for all countries, developed and developing," he said.