GSP Tariff Reductions Expected to Take Effect in Late April; Prospects for MTB Unclear
Omnibus government spending legislation that includes provisions to renew the Generalized System of Preferences was passed in the House, the House Committee on Appropriations said in a March 22 news release. The GSP tariff reductions will apply to articles entered on and after the 30th day after the omnibus is enacted. The Senate is expected to pass the bill March 23 or 24. However, the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, which House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, had said should go on the omnibus, was not included. The MTB expired in 2012, and covers intermediate inputs for manufacturers that are not available domestically. Many in Washington have low expectations for legislative action in the Senate until after the November elections.
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The GSP benefits will be retroactive and tariffs paid since GSP expired at the end of 2017 will be reimbursed, though no interest will be paid on the payments. Importers must file a request with CBP within 180 days of the passage of the bill, and the request must contain enough detail that the agency can locate the entry or reconstruct the entry if it cannot locate the entry. A group advocating for the program's renewal said importers are paying $2.5 million a day in tariffs since its expiration (see 1801020010). CBP said last year GSP filers should continue to use the program indicator on filings following expiration (see 1712200005).
The way products are deemed eligible for GSP tariff eliminations will see a minor change. Importers will need to show that the product has not been made domestically within the last three years, and the date for submissions will shift to later in the year so that the most recent year's data will be available. The GSP program covers about 0.9 percent of all imports, and the total value of imports claimed under GSP was $21.2 billion in 2017 -- an 11.9 percent increase since 2016.