USTR Inadvertently Publishes Erroneous 10-Month GSP Data For July 1, 2004 Changes
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has inadvertently published a notice containing erroneously selected and organized 10-month data on the Competitive Need Limitations (CNLs) under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program.
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Had the selection of the data and its organization into four lists not been corrupted by a new software program, the lists would have accurately indicated which GSP beneficiary countries/HTS numbers could possibly lose or regain GSP benefits effective July 1, 2004.
Accurate 12-Month Data for July 1, 2004 Changes Available
However, accurate 12-month data (covering all of 2003) is now available in the USTR's Public Reading Room. In addition, this 12-month data is alsoavailable on the International Trade Commission's (ITC's) Web site at http://dataweb.usitc.gov (ITC Trade Dataweb).
Although not organized into informative lists, the 12-month data provides total annual customs value, percent of annual total of U.S. imports, etc. and as a result, is expected to indicate whether a particular tariff number will obtain, retain, or lose GSP benefits for a particular beneficiary country.
(According to the USTR, a GSP beneficiary developing country will lose GSP duty-free treatment for an eligible tariff number on July 1, 2004 if the President determines that 2003 exports of that tariff number from the country to the U.S. meet either of the following two CNLs:
- exports of the tariff number have a value in excess of the applicable amount for that year ($110 million for 2003), or
- exports of the tariff number have a value equal to or greater than 50% of the value of total U.S. imports of that tariff number from all countries (the "50% CNL").
(The CNLs, and this notice, apply to the Special Program Indicator (SPI) 'A' or 'A* GSP-eligible tariff numbers, and do not apply to the GSP-eligible tariff numbers (SPI 'A') specified for least-developed beneficiary developing countries (LDBDCs), nor to the GSP-eligible tariff numbers (SPI 'D') specified for beneficiary African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) GSP countries.)
The USTR also states that the President has the discretion to waive the 50% CNL (a de minimis waiver) for a country's exports of a specific tariff number if the value of total imports of that tariff number into the U.S. from all countries does not exceed $16.5 million in 2003.
Moreover, for a tariff number from a specific country that lost its GSP duty-free treatment because the tariff number exceeded a CNL in a prior year, the President also has the discretion to re-designate this country/HTS number pair for GSP duty-free treatment if imports of the tariff number from the country did not exceed the CNLs in 2003.)
(See ITT's Online Archives or 02/25/04 news, 04022515, for BP summary of the USTR's notice announcing the product petitions which have been accepted for the 2003 GSP Annual Review.)
- written comments due by 5 p.m. on March 31, 2004
USTR contact - GSP subcommittee (202) 395-6971
USTR notice (erroneous) (FR Pub 02/27/04) available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-4406.pdf
BP Note
The USTR does not expect to reissue a corrected version of this 10-month list.