The International Trade Commission (ITC) has issued a notice announcing that, at the request of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), it has instituted Investigation No. 332-466, Advice Concerning Possible Modifications to the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences, 2004 Review.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site a Synopsis of certain Trade Agreements/Programs which outlines the criteria that imported articles must meet to qualify for preferential treatment under various trade agreements and programs; the statements and documents that an importer must be prepared to submit to substantiate their claim; etc.
President Approves Continued AGOA Eligibility for 36 Countries, Adds Burkina Faso, Drops Ivory Coast
The White House has issued a press release stating that on December 21, 2004, President Bush approved the continued designation of the following 36 countries as eligible for tariff preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA):
On December 10, 2004, President Bush issued Presidential Proclamation 7853 in order to designate Burkina Faso as an African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) beneficiary country.
USTR Considers Removing Brazil from GSP Due to IPR Concerns (Review Extended through March 31, 2005)
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release stating that it will extend through March 31, 2005, its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Country Practices Review of a petition to remove GSP duty-free benefits from Brazil due to inadequate protection of intellectual property rights (IPR).
According to U.S. government sources, the 2005 printed, paper edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. (HTS) is expected to be printed later than usual this year.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site a comparison of various trade agreements and trade programs. The trade agreements/programs compared in the document are the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Singapore FTA (SFTA), the Chile FTA (UCFTA, or CFTA), and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).
On November 19, 2004, the Senate passed the conference version of H.R. 1047, the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004. The House passed the conference version of H.R. 1047 on October 8, 2004. The conference version of H.R. 1047 has now been cleared for the White House.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice announcing that it is extending the deadline for the submission of petitions for the 2004 Annual Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Product and Country Eligibility Practices Review to 5 p.m. on December 13, 2004.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice announcing the initiation of a review to consider the designation of Azerbaijan as a beneficiary developing country under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program.