USTR Announces CNL Waiver Petitions Accepted, Country Practice Petitions Under Evaluation, for 2008 GSP Annual Review
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a notice announcing the competitive need limitation (CNL) waiver petitions that are accepted for further review and the country practice petitions that continue to be under evaluation for acceptance as part of the 2008 Generalized System of Preferences Annual Review.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
The USTR notes that acceptance of a petition for review does not indicate any opinion with respect to 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.
Six 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, 2009 if a CNL is exceeded and a waiver is not granted):
| HTS Number | Country | Brief Product Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2922.41.00 | Brazil | Amino-naphthols and amino-phenol, their ethers, esters, except those with more than one kind of oxygen function; and salts thereof, nesoi1 |
| 3907.60.00 | Indonesia | Polyethylene terephthalate in primary forms (PET resin) |
| 4107.91.80 | Argentina | Full grain unsplit bovine (not buffalo) & equine leather, not whole, without hair on, nesoi1 |
| 7202.41.00 | India | Ferrochromium containing by weight not more than 4% of carbon |
| 7202.99.20 | Argentina | Calcium silicon ferroalloys |
| 7413.00.10 | Turkey | Copper, stranded wire, not electrically insulated, 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% CNLs2 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 ($19 million for 2008). No petition is required to be filed for a de minimis waiver.)
Iraq, Sri Lanka, and Philippines Country Practice Review Decisions Due by March 15, 2009
The TPSC has continued the evaluation of the country practice petitions for Iraq and Sri Lanka that were submitted for inclusion in the 2008 GSP Annual Review. The decision regarding whether to accept these country practice petitions, as well as a petition submitted in December 2008 requesting a country practice review with respect to the Philippines is now expected to be announced no later than March 15, 2009.
(See ITT's Online Archives 10/17/08 news, 08101705, for BP summary of USTR's announcement that it would not be publishing a "warning list" of country/HTS pairs that could lose GSP treatment on July 1, 2009 due to the CNLs and establishing a deadline for requesting CNL waiver petitions.
See ITT's Online Archives or 09/15/08 news, 08091505, for BP summary of the product and country practice petitions filed/ongoing and accepted for 2008 GSP Annual Review.)
1nesoi stands for "not elsewhere specified or included."
2There are two types of CNLs - the value CNL (which is $135 million for 2008) 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 2008 import statistics, will lose GSP duty-free treatment on July 1, 2009, unless a waiver is granted by the President.
- prehearing briefs and comments, requests to appear at hearing, and hearing statements due by 5 p.m. on 02/13/09
- public hearing on all CNL waiver petitions accepted for 2008 GSP Annual Review is scheduled for 02/26/09
- post-hearing briefs and comments due by 5 p.m. on 03/12/09
- ITC scheduled to publish report on products for which CNL waivers were requested in May 2009
- comments on ITC report due 10 calendar days after date of publication of the ITC report
- Results of 2008 GSP Annual Review will be announced on/around June 30, 2009 and any changes will take effect on the effective date announced.
USTR contact - Tameka Cooper (202) 395-6971
USTR notice (FR Pub 01/21/09) available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-1149.pdf.
BP Note
P.L. 109-432 tightened the GSP CNL waiver criteria by allowing 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.)