Trinidad and Tobago Still Scheduled to Lose GSP on Jan 1st
On June 30, 2008, President Bush issued Proclamation 8272 to modify duty-free treatment and certain designations under the Generalized System of Preferences and the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), and make technical changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule.
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All of Proclamation 8272's changes have been implemented except one involving GSP for the country of Trinidad and Tobago.
Trinidad and Tobago to Lose GSP on January 1, 2010
The Proclamation terminates the designation of "Trinidad and Tobago" as a beneficiary developing country for purposes of the GSP, effective on January 1, 2010, as the President determined that Trinidad and Tobago is a "high income" country.
Sources at the International Trade Commission confirm that the 2010 Harmonized Tariff Schedule will reflect this change.
GSP Scheduled to Expire on December 31, 2009 for Most Beneficiary Countries
The GSP program (i.e., A, A*, and A) for most beneficiary countries, i.e., other than those listed as African Growth and Opportunity Act beneficiary countries, is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2009, unless a law extending it is enacted.
For AGOA beneficiary countries, both the GSP program (i.e., A, A*, and A) and the AGOA-GSP program (i.e., D) expire on a later date - September 30, 2015.
Congress is poised to enact a one year extension to GSP, but the measure, H.R. 4284, has become a target for holds in the Senate. (The House had passed H.R. 4284 on December 14, 2009.)
(See ITT's Online Archives or 07/02/09 news, 08070205, for BP summary of Part I on Proclamation 8272, which contains the Trinidad and Tobago information.
See ITT's Online Archives or 12/18/09 news, 09121810, for most BP summary on the status of GSP extension legislation.)