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Senate Passes GSP Renewal in Next Step Toward Broader Action on Trade

On September 22 the Senate passed the bill (H.R. 2832) to renew the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) in a 70-27 vote.  As planned, the House-passed version of the bill was amended to include a renewal of the trade adjustment assistance (TAA) program and, fortunately, all other amendments were defeated.
 
The revised bill now returns to the House for that chamber’s approval.  According to the broader game plan worked out between the White House and congressional leaders, the President now is expected to formally transmit to Congress implementing bills for the free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama, and the House is expected to re-approve the amended GSP/TAA bill.  There is some interest in trying to complete congressional action on all of these measures before South Korean president Lee Myung-bak visits Washington on October 13.

As reported, the GSP bill would extend the GSP program through July 31, 2013 and, of particular importance to many SGMA members, make GSP duty-free benefits retroactive to the program’s December 31, 2010 expiration.  H.R. 2832 also includes a measure that would temporarily increase the Customs merchandise processing fee from 0.21 percent ad valorem to 0.3464 percent to offset the duties foregone under the extended GSP program.

Of the three free trade agreements, the sporting goods industry has a particular stake in the FTA with Korea, the United States’ fifth largest export market for sporting goods and our eighth largest foreign supplier.  As advocated by SGMA through written statements and other representations, the agreement will provide for the immediate elimination of Korea’s 8 percent across-the-board tariff on sporting goods, as well as its tariffs on athletic footwear and sporting apparel.  U.S. tariffs on these products will be eliminated as well.

POSTED - Sept. 27, 2011