USTR Notice on the Results of the 2003 Annual GSP Product Review, 2002 Annual GSP Country Practices Review, Etc
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice announcing the results of several Generalized System of Preferences- (GSP-) related reviews.
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The USTR's announcement concerns the disposition of the product petitions accepted for review in the 2003 GSP Annual Product Review and the 2002 GSP Country Practices Review, the results of the 2003 De Minimis Waiver and Redesignation Reviews, the 2003 Competitive Need Limitation (CNL) removals, and certain previously deferred product and country practice decisions.
(The GSP program provides for the duty-free importation of designated articles when imported from beneficiary developing countries.)
Results of Reviews, Etc. Contained in Six Annexes to USTR's Announcement
The USTR's announcement contains six annexes in which the results of its reviews can be found, these include the following:
Product petitions - The USTR states that in 2003 Annual Review, the GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) reviewed petitions to change the product coverage of the GSP. The disposition of those petitions is described in Annex I of the USTR's announcement.
Previously deferred product decisions - According to the USTR, the disposition of certain previously deferred product decisions is described in Annex II.
Country practices reviews - The USTR states that the disposition of petitions reviewed in the 2002 Country Practices Review is described in Annex III. According to Annex III, the ongoing reviews of Bangladesh, Swaziland, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Bulgaria will continue. Annex III also indicates that reviews of Guatemala and the Dominican Republic were closed and a petition for review of Pakistan was accepted.
The USTR notes that the TPSC had previously decided not to initiate a full review of the country practice petitions submitted in the 2003 Annual GSP Review.
De minimis waivers - According to the USTR, Annex IV contains a list of the articles and countries granted de minimis waivers. The USTR states that in the 2003 De Minimis Waiver and Redesignation Review, the GSP Subcommittee reviewed the appraised import values of each GSP-eligible article in 2003 to determine whether an article from a GSP beneficiary developing country exceeded the CNLs. According to the USTR, de minimis waivers were granted to certain articles which exceeded the 50% import share CNL, but for which the aggregate value of the imports of that article was below the 2003 de minimis level of $16.5 million.
Article redesignated for GSP eligibility - Annex V to the USTR's announcement lists a certain article from a GSP-eligible country that had previously exceeded one of the CNLs, but had fallen below the CNLs in 2003 ($110 million and 50% of U.S. imports of the article) which has been redesignated for GSP eligibility.
Newly excluded articles - According to the USTR, Annex VI lists articles that exceeded one of the GSP CNLs in 2003, and are newly excluded from GSP eligibility.
USTR Contact - GSP Subcommittee (202) 395-6971
USTR Notice (FR Pub 07/06/04) available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/06jun20041800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-15361.pdf.
BP NoteAny new review result, disposition of product petition, etc. which resulted in changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) would have been noted in Presidential Proclamation 7800. (See ITT's Online Archives or 07/07/04 news, 04070705, for BP summary of Presidential Proclamation 7800.)