TGA Pushes Congress to Retroactively Renew GSP ASAP, Instructions to Ensure Refund of Duties Paid During Expiration
TGA believes that Congress will retroactively renew the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) trade preference program by the end of the summer. GSP expired on Jan. 1, meaning that U.S. travel goods imports from a wide range of developing countries, including Thailand, Cambodia, Burma (Myanmar), Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Pakistan, no longer enter the U.S. duty-free. Any GSP renewal would be retroactive to Jan. 1, which means companies would receive refunds for duties paid since Jan. 1. To prepare for refunds, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued the following instructions, which enables importers to retain the right to collect refunds of duties paid if GSP is retroactively renewed. GSP renewal has been delayed because of a fight over adding new eligibility requirements for countries that benefit from GSP, including human rights, environment, rule of law, and women’s empowerment. TGA is pushing Congress to reach a compromise to get GSP renewal over the finish line. U.S. travel goods imports from GSP countries increased 8.4% in 2020, supplying 14.9% of all U.S. travel goods imports during 2020. TGA urges you to write your members of Congress to urge them to retroactively renew GSP as soon as possible. It only takes a couple of minutes.