On March 29th, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced the suspension of all U.S. engagements with Burma (Myanmar) under the 2013 Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (“TIFA”), effective immediately. Pursuant to this announcement, the United States will be suspending all government-to-government meetings following the military coup that occurred in February and the related escalation in violence by Burma’s military against its people.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) issued a notice announcing the lapse of the Generalized System of Preferences (“GSP”) special tariff program, effective December 31, 2020, unless renewed by an act of Congress. The GSP is the oldest U.S. trade preference program and was established by the Trade Act of 1974. GSP effectively promotes the
In a sudden announcement after 8pm on Friday May 31, 2019, the President made the anticipated decision that India was to be removed from the Generalized System of Preferences (“GSP”), effective June 5, 2019. The statement issued by the White House claims that the President had “determined that India has not assured the United States that India will provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets.” The end of GSP eligibility and removal of India’s developing country status comes after holding that status for approximately 30 years and is a deepening indication of the U.S.’s increased protectionist stance in the global trading environment. Last month the U.S. ended Turkey’s preferential status.
On May 16, 2019, the President announced that he would be terminating Turkey’s status as a beneficiary of specialized treatment pursuant to the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences program (GSP).
At the direction of President Trump, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) has announced the United States’ intent to withdraw beneficiary status from India and Turkey under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (“GSP”) program.
The U.S. is expected to make an announcement on whether India will retain eligibility under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program within the next two weeks according to unidentified sources cited by Reuters. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is currently reviewing the eligibility of Indian products for duty-free entry into the U.S. under GSP as a response to petitions from the dairy and medical device industries. On November 1, 2018, USTR suspended GSP tariff reductions on 90 imports from India worth $75 billion including textiles, chemicals, and musical instruments.