The top administration trade official, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman, pressed Congress on July 31 to pass Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) renewal legislation. Despite the introduction of legislation in both the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, the program expired at midnight on July 31.
The U.S. supports Central African economic integration and strengthened commercial ties with American industry players, Deputy Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization David Shark said July 29, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). As part of a prepared statement delivered during the WTO Trade Policy Review of the six-member Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) (here), Shark advised the five member nations present, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Chad and Cameroon, to optimize the abundance of natural resources in the region to stimulate development.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 22-26 in case they were missed.
As the Generalized System of Preferences July 31 expiration date looms, Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C. has withdrawn her objection to a unanimous consent vote on GSP renewal legislation, according to the Coalition for GSP (here). The lone remaining obstacle to the vote is Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who opposes the funding mechanisms incorporated in the Senate legislation (see 13071914).
The Office of the United State Trade Representative (USTR) is now accepting petitions to modify the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) product list and to waive competitive need limitations (CNLs), according to a USTR public notification issued July 26. In order to be considered for the 2013 Annual GSP Review, the GSP Subcommittee of the USTR-chaired Trade Policy Staff Committee must receive relevant product petitions by Oct. 4 and relevant waiver petitions by Nov. 22. Interested parties should submit petitions via http://www.regulations.gov with the docket number USTR-2013-0024.
The effort to pass Generalized Systems of Preferences renewal legislation before its July 31 expiration hit a roadblock July 25 when Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Kay Hagan, D-N.C., objected to a request to use unanimous consent to pass the renewal legislation introduced by the Finance Committee, according to the Coalition for GSP renewal (here). Both halls of Congress introduced GSP renewal legislation during the week of July 15 (see 13071914). Sens. Coburn and Hagan did not immediately comment.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 15-19 in case they were missed.
The Obama Administration published the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) action plan provided to the government of Bangladesh for the possible reinstatement of its trade benefits, according to a joint statement by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the Department of Labor and State Department. USTR, which had previously discussed the plan only in broad outlines (see 13071613), said that making the action plan public was “a means to reinforce and support the efforts of all international stakeholders to promote improved worker rights and worker safety in Bangladesh.” The joint statement also said that the U.S. would join forces with the European Union, Bangladesh and the International Labor Organization (ILO) to implement goals from the Sustainability Compact, which are broadly consistent with the published GSP Action Plan.
Despite once bleak projections for Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) renewal, Congressional leaders rallied together in recent days to introduce clean GSP renewal bills in both halls of Congress in bipartisan fashion. The House Ways and Means Committee introduced a bill on July 17 and the Senate introduced an identical bill the following day. Both pieces of legislation push the GSP expiration date until September 2015. The developments on Capitol Hill reflect promising momentum in the effort to pass legislation prior to the July 31 GSP expiration.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont. and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, introduced Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) renewal legislation late July 18. The announcement comes in the wake of House GSP renewal legislation, introduced July 17 (see 13071819). The GSP system is slated to expire on July 31, at which point U.S. importers will face steep hikes in tariff rates unless renewal law is passed.