The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, as part of its 2015/2016 Generalized System of Preferences Annual Product Review, published a breakdown of 2015 import statistics (here). The agency lists six items set to be removed from GSP eligibility (though four have pending petitions for waivers), 103 products eligible for a de minimis waiver, and 145 non-GSP-eligible products that might be reconsidered for GSP designation. Re-designations could be given based on 2015 trade data and consideration of certain statutory factors, USTR said. USTR will accept public comments until April 1 regarding possible de minimis competitive needs limitation waivers (CNL) and potential re-designations, the agency said in a notice (here).
President Barack Obama intends to sign the comprehensive customs reauthorization legislation passed by the Senate on Feb. 11 (see 1602110018), White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement (here). Despite some concerns with the legislation's mention of Israel, the bill's "passage is an important milestone in our overall trade agenda," Earnest said of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. Among other things, the legislation (here) increases the de minimis level, directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to draft new importer of record regulations, fixes tariffs for recreational performance outerwear, and updates reliquidation procedures.
The European Union recently issued the following trade-related releases (notices of most significance will be given separate headlines):
In recent editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted (here):
The International Trade Commission published notices in the Jan. 22 Federal Register on the following AD/CV injury, Section 337 patent, and other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will be in another ITT article):
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative recently took under consideration an additional five tariff subheadings covering handbags and travel goods for addition to the list of products eligible for the Generalized System of Preferences, according to its notice of petitions accepted for the 2015-16 GSP review (here). USTR released the list on Jan. 11 (see 1601110039), and added the new subheadings -- 4202.92.30.20, 4202.92.30.31, 4202.92.30.91, 4202.92.90.26 and 4202.92.90.60 – as a correction later that day. The ITC on Jan. 19 said (here) it will consider the subheadings in its investigation on possible GSP modifications (see 1601150031).
The International Trade Commission published notices in the Jan. 19 Federal Register on the following AD/CV injury, Section 337 patent, and other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will be in another ITT article):
The International Trade Commission started an investigation titled “Generalized System of Preferences: Possible Modifications, 2015 Review,” per the U.S. Trade Representative's Dec. 30 request, to give advice and information relating to the “possible designation of articles, removal of articles, and waiver of competitive needs limitations,” it said (here). ITC will host a public hearing on the matter on Feb. 24. Hearing and comment submission deadlines are as follows:
The White House released a list of HTS subheadings for agricultural products that are set for suspension of African Growth Opportunity Act benefits when imported from South Africa (here). Included as Annex I to Presidential Proclamation 9388, the list includes various subheadings in HTS chapters 1-41. The suspension would be implemented by adding new SPI “D*” to the HTS, similar to the Generalized System of Preferences SPI “A*” for excluded products, and adding a new subdivision (c) to General Note 16 containing a list of product-country pairs ineligible for AGOA treatment. Currently, the list would include only South African agricultural products. The changes would not take effect until March 15. South Africa says it has resolved the underlying poultry dispute with the U.S., and President Barack Obama will revoke the HTS changes before they take effect (see 1601120033).
The Generalized System of Preferences Subcommittee of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) has accepted for review 23 petitions to add a product to the list of goods eligible for GSP duty-free treatment, three petitions to remove an item from GSP eligibility, and eight petitions to waive competitive needs limitations (CNLs), as part of its annual GSP product review, according to a notice published in the Federal Register Jan. 11 (here). Acceptance of the petitions indicates only that TPSC found that they warrant a review.