USTR to Review Four CNL Waiver Petitions as Part of 2010 GSP Annual Review
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a notice announcing the competitive need limitation waiver petitions1 that have been accepted for further review as part of the 2010 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 merits of the petition. Acceptance indicates only that the listed petitions have been found eligible for review by the Trade Policy Staff Committee and that such review will take place.
GSP to Expire on December 31, 2010
GSP for most beneficiary countries (A, A+, and A*), i.e., other than those listed as African Growth and Opportunity Act beneficiary countries will expire for goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse after midnight, December 31, 2010.2
USTR states that if and when the program is reauthorized, a schedule for submission of public comments and for a public hearing on the petitions will be announced in the Federal Register.
Four Combinations Could Lose GSP if CNL Exceeded and Waiver Not Granted
CNL waiver petitions were accepted for four country/tariff number combinations (which are currently eligible for GSP duty-free benefits, but could lose their benefits on July 1, 2011 if the CNL is exceeded and a waiver is not granted):
| HTS Number | Country | Brief Product Description |
| 2922.41.00 | Brazil | lysine and its esters from Brazil |
| 4011.93.80 | Sri Lanka | pneumatic tires |
| 4015.19.10 | Thailand | certain rubber gloves |
| 7202.99.20 | Argentina | calcium silicon ferroalloys |
All other CNL waiver petitions have been rejected.
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% CNLs for country/tariff number combinations if an interested party petitions for a waiver before the country/tariff number combination exceeds a CNL.
(The President may also waive the 50% CNL with respect to an eligible article imported from a beneficiary developing country if the value of total imports of that article from all countries during the calendar year did not exceed the applicable de minimis amount for that year. USTR has previously stated that no petition is required to be filed for a de minimis waiver.)
1There are two types of CNLs -- the value CNL (which are $145 million for 2010) and the 50% CNL (equal to or greater than 50% of the 2010 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 2010 import statistics, will lose GSP duty-free treatment on July 1, 2011, unless a waiver is granted by the President.
The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 also allows 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.
2For AGOA beneficiary countries, both the GSP program (i.e., A, A*, and A+) and the AGOA-GSP program (i.e., D) remain in effect through September 30, 2015.
(See ITT’s Online Archives or 12/27/10 news, 10122711, for BP summary of CBP’s instructions on GSP’s December 31 expiration.
See ITT’s Online Archives or 12/23/10 news, 10122338, for BP summary of the Senate and House passing the amended version of H.R. 6517.
See ITT's Online Archives or 07/15/10 news, 10071523, for BP summary of USTR accepting product petitions for the 2010 GSP Annual Review, which were due by November 16, 2010.)
USTR contact- Tameka Cooper (202) 395-6971 or Tameka_Cooper@ustr.eop.gov