Current
December 29, 2011 - United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk announced today the outcome of the Obama Administration’s 2010 Annual Review under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. Congress created the GSP program in the Trade Act of 1974 to help developing countries expand their economies by allowing certain goods to be imported to the United States duty-free.
Ambassador Kirk said, “GSP is an important element both of this Administration’s trade agenda and of its efforts to help developing countries grow their economies through increased trade. The annual review of GSP helps us to ensure that the program is working as it should and that developments affecting country and product eligibility are taken into account, consistent with the GSP statute. A well-functioning GSP program also helps U.S. businesses, workers, and consumers by lowering the costs of imported goods, including those used as inputs for U.S. manufacturing.”
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According to the World Trade Organization, Generalized System of Preferences are programs by developed countries granting preferential tariffs to imports from developing countries.
In the United States, the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) is a program designed to promote economic growth in the developing world by providing preferential duty-free entry for products from designated beneficiary countries and territories.
GSP was instituted on January 1, 1976, by the Trade Act of 1974, and was re-authorized on October 12, 2011 - making US manufacturers more competitive and reducing prices for U.S. consumers of entering products.
GSP is an important tool for boosting economic growth and job creation. Many U.S. companies source raw materials and other inputs from GSP countries, and the duty-free treatment of these imports reduces the production costs of these U.S. manufacturers, making them more competitive. According to analysis by the Coalition for GSP, approximately 82,000 jobs are either directly or indirectly associated with the importation and use of GSP-eligible imports.
Background
The Generalized System of Preferences provides special tariff preferences for imports from the less developed countries into the advanced industrialized countries. The idea of such preferences was first formally proposed at the 1964 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD I). This conference focused on the theme that trade, as opposed to aid, was the most effective vehicle for promoting Third World economic development.
In 1968, some headway was made at UNCTAD II, when the United States and other advanced industrialized countries supported a resolution to establish a mutually acceptable system of preferences.
A barrier to such a system was the most favored nation clause of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which provides that trade be conducted on the basis of non-discrimination. To permit them to grant preferences to less developed countries, the industrialized countries requested and received a 10-year waiver from the requirement on June 1971.
The implementation of 14 Generalized Systems of Preferences (GSPs) followed: The European Community (July 1, 1971), Japan (August 1971), Norway (October 1971), Denmark, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (January 1972), Canada (July 1974), and the United States (January 1976). The 10-year waiver was later extended by the GATT and adopted by the WTO, with the result that the industrialized countries can extend their GSP programs indefinitely.
The U.S. GSP is authorized by Title V of the Trade Act of 1974. Under the program, the President designates countries and products eligible for duty-free treatment. Products determined to be import-sensitive are statutorily exempt.
The California Chamber of Commerce, recognizing that the Generalized System of Preferences has stimulated two-way trade with the United States and has contributed to the long-term economic development of some developing countries, supports annual extensions of the Generalized System of Preferences.
In keeping with long-standing policy, the CalChamber enthusiastically supports free trade worldwide, expansion of international trade and investment, fair and equitable market access for California products abroad and elimination of disincentives that impede the international competitiveness of California business. New multilateral, sectoral and regional trade agreements ensure that the United States may continue to gain access to world markets, resulting in an improved economy and additional employment of Americans.