Trade Preferences Programs

USTR threatens to revoke Turkey's GSP eligibility

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has launched a Generalized System of Preferences eligibility review for Turkey because of its $1.78 billion in retaliatory tariffs. “The Trump Administration has concerns with Turkey’s compliance with GSP’s market access criterion,” said Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish in an Aug. 3 statement . “We hope that Turkey will work with us to address the concerns that led to this new review of their duty-free access to the United States." GSP is...

Sources: White House opposed putting MTB in omnibus over China concerns

The Miscellaneous Tariff Bill was left out of the omnibus government funding bill passed by Congress and signed by President Trump last week after the White House signaled its opposition to the inclusion of multiple tariff lines that correspond to products mainly imported from China, sources told Inside U.S. Trade. That opposition came after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer sent a letter to the House Ways & Means trade subcommittee, outlining opposition to the MTB recommendations provided by the...

Trump moves to suspend some AGOA benefits for Rwanda over used clothing import ban

President Trump on Thursday announced that he intends to suspend duty-free benefits for apparel products granted to Rwanda under the African Growth and Opportunity Act in 60 days due to the country’s import ban on used apparel and its lack of progress towards eliminating it despite U.S. overtures. The decision to suspend some of Rwanda’s benefits was based off an out-of-cycle AGOA review of Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda concerning a 2016 decision by the East African Community to impose an...

GSP renewed for three years via Omnibus

As part of the Omnibus funding bill signed by President Trump last Thursday, the Generalized System of Trade Preferences has been renewed for three years and applied retroactively back through Jan. 1 when it expired. The trade preferences program for developing countries enjoys overwhelming bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress and its renewal was a priority for retail and apparel groups. A bill renewing was passed 400-2 by the House in February, but never taken up in the Senate...

U.S. should shift focus in Africa from aid to trade, analysts and officials say

The U.S. needs a new approach to Africa that is focused more on developing commercial ties and less on providing aid, analysts and government officials said Friday. Speaking at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event, Erin Walsh, assistant secretary of Commerce for global markets, said it was critical for the U.S. to pivot from a focus on aid to Africa to one of commercial engagement with African countries. To that end, she said, the President’s Advisory Council on...

House votes overwhelmingly for GSP renewal

The House of Representatives voted 400-2 to renew the Generalized System of Preferences for three years and retroactively apply the tariff cuts to duties collected since it lapsed at the end of December. GSP renewal – in addition to the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill passed by the House last year – now awaits action in the Senate, where it is expected to pass with bipartisan support. The the timing of a vote remains unclear, however. This week, the American Apparel and...

House set to introduce GSP renewal Thursday, vote next week

Editor's note: This story was updated after initial publication to reflect the introduction of the bill and to include quotes from lawmakers. A bill to renew the Generalized System of Preferences that was introduced in the House on Thursday will be moved to a vote under suspension of the rules next week, multiple sources tell Inside U.S. Trade . The trade preferences program – which cuts tariffs on a slew of products for qualifying developing countries – expired at...

Lighthizer: U.S. will soon select an African country for a 'model' free trade deal

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer expects the U.S. will soon strike a free trade deal with a “properly selected” African country that will become a model for others in the region, he said on Wednesday. During a radio interview at the White House, Lighthizer was asked about the potential for U.S. trade in the African region – something covered by the African Growth and Opportunities Act, which he said was designed to “get these economies to start moving forward” with...

House passes Miscellaneous Tariff Bill

Editor's note: This story was updated after initial publication to reflect the passage of the bill. The House on Tuesday passed the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill by a 402-0 vote, leaving its fate up to the Senate. The House voted under suspension of the rules to pass the bill, which would cut tariffs on nearly 1,700 products not made or found in the U.S. that are used as inputs in goods made in the U.S.. An identical bill has been...

Trump partially suspends Ukraine from GSP, reinstates Argentina

President Trump last week suspended duty-free treatment for certain articles from Ukraine under the Generalized System of Preferences because of its failure to meet some of the program’s intellectual property protection requirements. The president also ordered that Argentina be partially reinstated to the GSP on Jan. 1 and restored Gambia and Swaziland’s eligibility under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Trump issued a 120-day notice to Ukraine announcing the suspension of some GSP benefits because “a viable path to remedy...

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