In a gesture to help Aceh tsunami victims, the United States has offered a scheme to cut import duties on Aceh products entering US market, a senior official at the Indonesian Ministry of Trade said.

"We had informal talks with the United States and they are willing to extend preferential cuts in duty, but only for Aceh commodities and goods," the ministry's director general for international cooperation Pos Hutabarat was quoted Monday by The Jakarta Post as saying.

However, Aceh had limited manufacturing industry, and exported its products and natural commodities through the neighboring province of North Sumatra, he said.

"We will formally propose that the scheme cover all goods usingmaterials from Aceh. We will have to identify which goods are eligible to enjoy the benefits of the scheme."

The scheme is formally known as the Generalized System of Preference (GSP) program, under which developed countries grant preferential duty cuts for selected products from developing countries.

Aside from the United States, the European Union also offers a similar scheme. At the moment, Minister of Trade Mari Pangestu is on a trip to Europe to, among other things, ask for GSP treatment for Indonesian tuna, shrimp, textiles and clothing.

Following the tsunami disaster that claimed up to 230,000 livesalong Asian coasts on Dec. 26, the world poured aid into devastated countries. The more developed countries have also offered some trade relief measures.