U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an administrative message stating that the U.S. - Dominican Republic - Central America Free Trade Agreement (FTA) (CAFTA-DR) took effect for the country of El Salvador for goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after March 1, 2006.
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)
The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) is a trade preference program established by the Trade Act of 1974, which promoted economic development by eliminating duties on many products when they were imported from one of the 119 countries and territories designated as developing. The program expired in December 2020 and is pending renewal in Congress. Should Congress renew the program with a retroactive refund clause, CBP will refund duties for entries eligible for GSP. Under the GSP, goods that are entirely produced or manufactured in a beneficiary developing country may qualify for duty-free entry under GSP; all third-party materials must undergo a substantial transformation defined as at least 35% of the good’s value having been added in the beneficiary country. The goods must also be “imported directly” from the GSP eligible country.
On February 28, 2006, President Bush issued Proclamation 7987 to amend the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS), etc., to implement the U.S. - Dominican Republic -Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) for El Salvador.
President Bush has issued Proclamation 7981 in order to reinstate Liberia's duty-free benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. In addition, the President has determined that Liberia should be designated as a least-developed beneficiary developing country (LDBDC).
The Wall Street Journal reports that as China's trade clout grows, its manufacturers are increasingly running afoul of Western anti-trust law in products from Vitamin C (where half a dozen civil antitrust suits have been filed against Chinese manufacturers) to magnesite - a mineral used in steel production. According to the article, these anti-trust accusations are the result of Chinese companies forming alliances to raise prices - a effort to stave off dumping accusations. (WSJ, dated 02/10/06, www.wsj.com )
The International Trade Commission (ITC) has released its report entitled The U.S. Oman Free Trade Agreement: Potential Economywide and Selected Sectoral Effects.
The standard Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program (i.e., A, A*, and A) is scheduled to expire for non-African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) beneficiarycountries on December 31, 2006.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued a notice announcing the availability of grant funding under the fiscal year (FY) 2006 Border Enforcement Grant (BEG) program. According to the FMCSA, this is a discretionary grant program that provides funding for carrying out border commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety programs and related enforcement activities and projects. Entities and states that share a land border with another country are eligible to receive grant funding. Applications must be sent no later than March 15, 2006. (FR Pub 01/31/06, available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/pdf/E6-1155.pdf)
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued two notices announcing that the reviews of intellectual property protection in Brazil and Pakistan have been closed. These reviews were carried out as part of the USTR's 2005 Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Country Eligibility Practices Review (country practices review).
According to a press release from the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and USTR sources, duty-free benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program have been reinstated for Ukraine effective January 23, 2006.
According to a European Union (EU) press release and EU sources, on January 1, 2006, the European Commission (EC) implemented a new EU Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for the three-year period of 2006 - 2008.