On October 16, 2008, President Bush signed into law H.R. 7222 (Public Law 110-436), a bill to extend the Andean trade preferences and Generalized System of Preferences programs beyond their current expiration dates, and make various changes regarding certain African and Dominican Republic textiles.
1. President Signs GSP and ATPA/ATPDEA Extensions, DR "2 for 1" Apparel Benefit, AGOA "Abundant Supply" Repeal, Etc.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a notice announcing that it will not be publishing a 2008 GSP Annual Review "warning list" of country/tariff number pairs that could lose duty-free Generalized System of Preferences treatment on July 1, 2009 due to exceeding the competitive need limitation values.
The Commerce Department filed, on October 10, 2008, a proposed rule with the Office of Management and Budget on a steel import monitoring and analysis system. (OMB EO 12866 Regulatory Review list available at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eoReviewSearch)
The International Trade Commission has issued a notice announcing the initiation of an investigation (332-500) regarding possible modifications to the Generalized System of Preferences as part of the 2008 Annual GSP Review.
On October 3, 2008, the House of Representatives agreed to the Senate's version of H.R. 7222, a bill to extend the Andean trade preferences and Generalized System of Preferences programs beyond their current expiration dates, and make various changes regarding certain African and Dominican Republic textiles.
On October 2, 2008, the Senate passed an amended version of H.R. 7222, a bill that would extend the Andean trade preferences and Generalized System of Preferences programs beyond their current expiration dates, and make various changes regarding certain African and Dominican Republic textiles.
On September 29, 2008, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 7222, a measure that would extend the Andean trade preferences and Generalized System of Preferences programs one year beyond their December 31, 2008 expiration date. H.R. 7222 also contains provisions relating to certain African and Dominican Republic textiles.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is announcing that the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Implementation Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) is requesting written public comments by noon on October 20,2008 for the annual review of the eligibility of sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries to receive the benefits of the AGOA.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a notice announcing the initiation of a review to consider designating the Republic of Kosovo as a beneficiary developing country (BDC) under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program and soliciting public comments on whether Kosovo meets certain eligibility criteria for such a designation.