CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1918 on Oct. 31, containing 2,573 Automated Broker Interface records and 539 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records, it said in a CSMS message. The update includes recently announced changes to the Generalized System of Preferences (see 1910280044).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 28 - Nov. 1 in case they were missed.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Robert Menendez, D.-N.J., have asked U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer if Rudy Giuliani or Gordon Sondland, U.S. ambassador to the European Union, discussed Ukraine with him, as they try to find out why he withdrew a recommendation in August to partially restore Ukraine to the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program. About 150 tariff lines of Ukrainian exports were restored to GSP on Oct. 30 (see 1910280044). They also asked why it was withdrawn a second time on Oct. 17, and asked if USTR discussed the restoration with the president before the White House proclamation about Ukraine and GSP was issued Oct. 25.
The International Trade Commission issued Revision 16 to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Changes in the new edition that take effect Nov. 1 include the restoration of eligibility of many Ukrainian goods for the Generalized System of Preferences, as well as implementation of the results of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s 2019 GSP product review, which also requires minor changes to tariff subheadings for certain plywood. A new set of exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on products from China are also added to the tariff schedule.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released the results of its 2019 Generalized System of Preferences product review. Changes, which take effect Nov. 1, include new GSP eligibility for orchids from Thailand and certain types of plywood from Indonesia. USTR denied petitions to remove polyethylene terephthalate from Pakistan from GSP eligibility, as well as a competitive needs limitation (CNL) waiver for stearic acid from Indonesia, which will now be ineligible for GSP. USTR also said that subheading 8702.10.21, for motor vehicles with diesel engine, to transport 16 or more persons, from North Macedonia will also be ineligible for GSP after exceeding CNL import limits.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, as part of a broader announcement on changes to the Generalized System of Preferences, announced late Oct. 25 that about a third of Thailand's GSP-covered trade will exit the preferences program April 25, 2020, because it does not allow its workers to participate in collective bargaining and other labor rights, despite six years of engagement. The USTR said all seafood products are being removed from the program because of abuses of workers in that industry and in shipping; other products were chosen because Thai imports are a small share of the U.S. imports, but the U.S. is relatively important for Thai exporters. In all, GSP imports from Thailand were $4.4 billion last year, USTR said; after India's exclusion from the program earlier this year, Thailand accounted for the highest volume of exports qualifying for GSP. Even with the reduction, it will still be the largest beneficiary. The Associated Press reported Oct. 28 that Thai officials will seek to talk about averting the eligibility changes.
India blocked a first request from the U.S. for the World Trade Organization to form a panel to judge whether the hike in tariffs that India instituted because of the U.S. tariffs on Indian steel and aluminum breaks the rules. The panel is automatically convened after a second request. India delayed retaliating for the Section 232 tariffs for many months, but put them in place after the U.S. removed India from the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program.
A bipartisan bill was recently introduced to remove Burma from the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program over its ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims. The lead sponsor, Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., is the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee chairman for Asia, and he was joined by Rep. Ann Wagner, D-Mo. “We cannot shy away from calling Burma’s persecution of the Rohingya people what it is: a genocide. The victims of these atrocities have fled their homes and are still suffering, despite the international community’s efforts to care for the refugees,” Sherman said in a press release announcing the bill. “The Rohingya need to be able to voluntarily return home safely and with dignity, and Congress should use all of its leverage available to pressure the Burmese government to make this happen.” Burma received tariff breaks on $117 million worth of exports in 2018, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. When India and Turkey were still enrolled, Burma ranked 16th among beneficiary countries. The leading exports from Burma covered by GSP were travel goods, dried beans, aluminum, honey, and preserved fruits and vegetables.
President Donald Trump was silent on trade frictions when he appeared before tens of thousands of Indian-Americans in Houston on Sept. 22. On stage with him, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi only hinted at a possible solution to India's expulsion from the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program (see 1909060029). According to a transcript of the event issued by the White House, Modi said that over the next two to three days, he and Trump would discuss economic issues. "I hope that from these discussions as well we will have very positive results," he said. "By the way, President Trump calls me a tough negotiator. However, he himself is quite an expert in the 'art of the deal.' And I am learning quite a lot from him."