18 Petitions Accepted for 2007 GSP Annual Product and Country Practices Reviews
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a notice announcing the eleven product and seven country practice petitions that are accepted for further review in the 2007 Generalized System of Preferences Annual Review, and setting forth the schedule for comments and public hearings on these petitions.
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(Note: This summary reflects certain corrections made after its publication date. For details see ITT's Online Archives or 09/14/07 news, 07091405.)
The USTR notes that acceptance of a petition for review does not indicate any opinion with respect to its disposition. Acceptance indicates only that the listed petition has been found eligible for review by the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) and that such review will take place.
List of Product Petitions Do Not Include Those Requesting CNL Waivers
According to the USTR, the list of product petitions accepted for further review in the 2007 GSP Annual Review does not include petitions requesting competitive need limitation (CNL) waivers. The deadline for submission of product petitions requesting CNL waivers is 5 p.m. on November 16, 2007 (in order to allow petitioners an opportunity to review additional annual U.S. import statistics). The USTR states that a review of those petitions will be conducted later.
(Such petitions request the waiver of the CNLs for specific GSP-eligible country/Harmonized Tariff Number (HTS) combinations (CNLs are not needed for least-developed beneficiary developing countries (LDBDCs) or African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries).)
Nine Petitions to Make Additional HTS Numbers GSP Eligible
The USTR states that it has accepted nine petitions to make the following Harmonized Tariff Schedule numbers eligible for GSP:
| HTS Number | Brief Description of Product |
| 2613.10.00 | Molybdenum ores and concentrates, roasted |
| 2613.90.00 | Molybdenum ores and concentrates, other |
| 2917.12.10 | Adipic acid |
| 3204.17.90 | Other synthetic organic pigments and coloring preparations |
| 4412.39.50301 | Other plywood sheets, not exceeding 6 mm in thickness, with an outer ply of certain pines |
| 7601.10.30 | Certain unwrought aluminum, not alloyed, of uniform cross section throughout its length |
| 7601.20.30 | Certain unwrought aluminum alloys, of uniform cross section throughout its length |
| 7604.21.00 | Certain aluminum bars, rods, and profiles of aluminum alloys, hollow profiles |
| 8111.00.4910 | Certain unwrought manganese and articles thereof, including waste and scrap |
1If granted, would require the creation of a new HTS tariff line
Two Petitions to Remove GSP Benefits from Country/HTS Number Combination
The USTR states that it has accepted the following petitions to remove GSP duty-free eligiblity from a country/HTS number combination:
| HTS Number | Request | Brief Description of Product |
| 2931.00.90 | Remove for India | Certain other organo-inorganic compounds |
| 3920.62.00 | Remove for Brazil | Polyethylene terephthalate film, sheet, and strip |
Seven Country Practice Petitions Accepted for 2007 GSP Annual Review
According to the USTR, the following country practice petitions have been accepted for the 2007 GSP Annual Review:
| Country | Action |
| Bangladesh | Worker Rights |
| Niger | Worker Rights |
| Uzbekistan | Worker Rights |
| Lebanon | Intellectual Property Rights |
| Russia | Intellectual Property Rights |
| Uzbekistan | Intellectual Property Rights |
| Philippines | Worker Rights |
(19 USC 2462(d) states that the President may withdraw, suspend, or limit the application of the duty-free treatment accorded by the GSP with respect to any country. In taking any such action, the President shall consider the factors set forth in 19 USC 2461 and 2462(c), which list factors affecting a country's GSP designation (e.g, protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), workers rights, economic development level), etc.)
GSP Subcommittee Invites Comments, Announces Schedule for Proceedings
The USTR states that the GSP Subcommittee will hold a hearing on all product petitions accepted for the 2007 GSP Annual Review on October 3, 2007 in Washington, DC and a hearing on the country practice petitions accepted on October 4, 2007 in Washington, DC.
The USTR's notice also provides the deadlines for requests to make oral presentations and testimony at this hearing, as well as the deadlines for post hearing briefs.
Modifications to the list of articles eligible for GSP duty-free treatment resulting from the 2007 Annual Review will be announced on or about June 30, 2008, and any changes will take effect on the effective date announced (usually July 1st).
(See ITT's Online Archives or 05/23/07 news, 07052310, for BP summary of USTR notice announcing the 2007 GSP Annual Review.)
USTR Contact - GSP Subcommittee (202) 395-6971
USTR Notice (FR Pub 09/06/07) available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-17614.pdf.
List of petitions accepted for 2007 GSP Annual Review available at http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Trade_Development/Preference_Programs/GSP/GSP_2007_Annual_Review/asset_upload_file752_13277.pdf.
BP Note
The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, which was signed into law on December 20, 2006 (Public Law (P.L.) 109-432), extended the standard GSP program (i.e., A , A*, and A) for non-AGOA beneficiary countries through December 31, 2008.
P.L. 109-432 also tightened the GSP CNL waiver criteria.