USTR Announces CNL Waiver Petitions Accepted for 2007 GSP Annual Review
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a notice announcing that it has accepted five competitive need limitation waiver petitions for further review as part of the 2007 Generalized System of Preferences Annual Review.
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The USTR notes that acceptance of a petition for review does not indicate any opinion with respect to the disposition on the merits of the petition. Acceptance indicates only that the listed petitions have been found eligible for review by the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) and that such review will take place.
Five Country/Tariff Number Combinations Could Lose GSP Benefits if CNL Exceeded and Waiver Not Granted
According to the USTR, CNL waiver petitions were accepted for the following country/tariff number combinations (all of which are currently eligible for GSP duty-free benefits, but could lose their benefits on July 1, 2008 if a CNL is exceeded and a waiver is not granted):
| HTS Number | Country | Brief Product Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2001.10.001 | India | Cucumbers including gherkins, prepared or preserved by vinegar or acetic acid |
| 3907.60.00 | Indonesia | Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin |
| 4011.10.10 | Indonesia | New pneumatic rubber radial tires for passenger vehicles |
| 4107.91.801 | Argentina | Full grain unsplit bovine (not buffalo) & equine leather, not whole, without hair on, nesoi2 |
| 7413.00.501 | Turkey | Copper, cables, plaited bands and the like, not fitted with fittings and not made up into articles |
President can waive both value and 50% CNLs if petitioned. The USTR has previously explained that the President has the authority to waive both the value and 50% CNLs3 for these country/tariff number combinations if an interested party petitions for a waiver before the country/tariff number combination exceeds a CNL.
(The President can also consider a de minimis waiver for all GSP countries that exceed the 50% CNL for a tariff number, if the value of imports of that tariff number from all countries during the calendar year did not exceed the applicable de minimis amount for the year ($18.5 million for 2007). No petition is required to be filed for a de minimis waiver.)
1The USTR has previously indicated that these country/tariff number combinations are not eligible for a de minimis waiver.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 10/25/07 news, 071025100, for BP summary of the USTR's list of 156 products that could lose GSP benefits effective July 1, 2008. The USTR's list of 156 products is based on 8 months of 2007 data and any final CNL decisions will be based on full 12-month calendar year 2007 data. The USTR also notes that this list is based on computer-generated data and may not include all combinations affected by the CNLs.)
2nesoi stands for "not otherwise specified or included."
3There are two types of CNLs - the value CNL (which is $130 million for 2007) and the 50% CNL (equal to or greater than 50% of the value of total U.S. imports of the tariff number from all countries). Country/tariff number combinations that exceed one or both CNLs, based on full calendar year 2007 import statistics, will lose GSP duty-free treatment on July 1, 2008, unless a waiver is granted by the President.
- prehearing briefs, requests to appear at hearing, and hearing statements due by 02/22/08
- public hearing on all CNL waiver petitions accepted for 2007 GSP Annual Review is scheduled for 03/04/08
- post-hearing briefs due by 03/14/08
- ITC scheduled to publish report on products for which CNL waivers were requested in May 2008
- comments on ITC report due 10 calendar days after date of publication of the ITC report
- Results of 2007 GSP Annual Review will be announced on/around June 30, 2008 and any changes will take effect on the effective date announced.
USTR contact - GSP Subcommittee (202) 395-6971
USTR notice (FR Pub 01/29/08) available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/29jan20081800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-1524.pdf.
BP Notes
- 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.
2. P.L. 109-432 also tightened the GSP CNL waiver criteria which allow the President to revoke a CNL waiver that has been in effect for at least five years for a GSP-eligible product from a specific country, if its annual trade level in the previous calendar year exceeds 150% of the annual monetary threshold or comprises 75% of all U.S. imports of that product. (See ITT's Online Archives or 12/22/06 news, 06122205 for BP summary.)