Apparel Eligibility in GSP Continues to Raise Debate
The National Taxpayers Union, reacting to a bipartisan resolution opposing duty-free import of apparel and shoes from all Generalized System of Preferences beneficiary countries, said that resolution (see 2010060027) ought to be called the keep-apparel-production-in-China resolution. There is no public push from apparel importers to add the category to GSP on the current renewal.
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The NTU said that China provides one-third of textile, apparel and footwear imports, and argues that allowing duty-free imports from these categories would encourage factories to move to Pakistan, Indonesia or Cambodia. “Reducing taxes on imports from GSP countries would encourage production to relocate out of China to regions that are more friendly to the United States,” the group said. It said that as of 2019, the average U.S. tariff on textiles, apparel and shoes was nearly 13%.