U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reposted a 2008 Regulatory Audit1 document that provides general compliance information for importers claiming benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program 2. The document informs importers of the basic requirements of the GSP program and provides guidance on how to begin to structure a system of internal controls that addresses the regulatory requirements for substantiating GSP claims.
The International Trade Commission is seeking input until April 4, 2012 for its newly initiated investigation (Inv. No. 332-529) concerning possible modifications to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) as part of its 2011 Review, for which the U.S. Trade Representative has requested information and advice. As requested, ITC will provide advice on the likely impact of competing U.S. industries of (i) the addition of certain plastic bags under HTS subheading 3923.21.00 for all GSP-eligible countries; (ii) the addition of twelve cotton products under HTS headings 5201, 5202, and 5203 for least-developed beneficiary countries; and (iii) competitive need limitation (CNL) waivers for 9 HTS subheadings for certain countries.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a notice on the petitions it has accepted for the 2011 Generalized System of Preferences Annual Review.1 USTR is considering whether certain plastic bags should become duty-free for all GSP beneficiaries, and if certain staple and fiber cotton should become duty-free for least-developed (LDC) beneficiaries. Additionally, USTR will review nine petitions to waive competitive need limits (CNLs) on imports of certain canned beef from Argentina, rubber gloves from Thailand, auto parts from India, etc., that could otherwise lose their GSP benefits, depending on 2011 levels of trade. Any approved GSP grants and waivers will take effect on July 1, 2012.
During a February 15, 2012 press briefing, the State Department was asked whether the U.S. was currently advocating for Congress to extend Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) status to Pakistani textiles. A State Department official responded that Pakistan is currently already a beneficiary of the GSP program, which provides tariff relief - including for a limited number of textile products - for many countries. The official stated that the department is continuing to work with Congress to find ways of extending additional trade preferences to Pakistan. According to the official, the department shares Pakistan's desire to transition the countries' relationship from aid to private sector investment and trade, which the department believes will be more stable and mutually beneficial in the long term.
In the January 25, 2012 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (Vol. 46, No. 5), CBP proposes to correct the reasoning in two rulings and similar treatment on whether the blending of frozen broccoli and mixing of wine in a CBP bonded warehouse is a permissible manipulation under 19 USC 1562. The holdings of these two rulings are not proposed to change.
Broker Power is providing readers with some of the top stories for January 17-20, 2012 in case they were missed last week.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative posted the January 17, 2012 remarks of Deputy USTR Sapiro during the U.S.-Egypt Business Council meeting. Sapiro described the U.S.' multilateral efforts to advance trade and investment in Egypt. She also stated that bilaterally, the U.S. is ready to work with its Egyptian counterparts to step up joint work in such areas as trade facilitation, services and investment, agriculture, good regulatory practices, as well as regional trade and investment arrangements. Among other things, USTR would like to see Egyptian companies take greater advantage of existing programs that would benefit Egyptian exports to U.S. markets, such as the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). According to Sapiro, the U.S. and Egypt plan to create a bilateral Action Plan to achieve their shared goals.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which began processing GSP duty refunds in early December for entries made during the period of January 1, 2011 through November 4, 2011, now states that refunds have been issued for all automatic refund requests (i.e., for entries that were filed duty-paid via ABI with the SPI "A"), except for ones that "failed" this refund process, which are being sent to the ports where entry was made to be manually processed. The target date for CBP completing the refund process for the SPI "A" failed entries is the end of February 2012.
Broker Power is providing readers with some of the top stories for January 9-13, 2012 in case they were missed last week.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a notice summarizing the results of the 2010 GSP Annual Review. It describes the disposition of the product petitions accepted for review in the 2010 GSP Annual Review and the status of country practices petitions accepted as part of GSP annual reviews, including the 2010 GSP Annual Review.