GSP Reinstatement | Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg Trade Report
GSP. H.R. 4979, a bipartisan bill introduced Feb. 8, would retroactively renew the Generalized System of Preferences, which expired Dec. 31, 2017, through Dec. 31, 2020. GSP provides duty-free access for imports of thousands of products from 121 beneficiary developing countries and, according to Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash., saved U.S. companies more than $865 million in 2017. The House of Representatives will reportedly vote on the bill during the week of Feb. 12, but prospects for action in the Senate are unclear.
Reichert said this bill includes a new reporting requirement “that will improve the effectiveness of congressional oversight of enforcement of the eligibility criteria.” Those criteria, he said, “provide an important enforcement tool to require our trading partners to meet standards established by Congress in regard to opening their markets to U.S. goods and services, intellectual property protection, and child labor and worker rights.”
This bill would also make changes that appear to be aimed at making it easier to waive competitive need limitations, which generally require the president to terminate GSP eligibility for products imported in excess of either of two value thresholds in a given year.
Related: Are you prepared for a lapsed GRI?
