The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) today released a public version of its confidential report on possible modifications to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).
The investigation, Generalized System of Preferences: Possible Modifications, 2020 Review, was requested by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).
The USITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, submitted a confidential version of the report to the USTR on August 31, 2020. The public version released today contains only the unclassified sections, with any business confidential information deleted.
As requested, the USITC provided advice as to the probable economic effect on total U.S. imports, on U.S. industries producing like or directly competitive articles, and on U.S. consumers of the addition to the list of eligible articles for the purposes of the GSP program of four HTS provisions for all beneficiary developing countries (BDCs).
The additions in consideration are:
0603.11.00 (All fresh cut roses),
0603.11.0010 (Fresh cut sweetheart roses),
0603.11.0030 (Fresh cut spray roses),
0603.11.0060 (Fresh cut roses, other than sweetheart and spray roses).
As requested, the USITC provided advice as to the probable economic effect on total U.S. imports, on U.S. industries producing like or directly competitive articles, and on U.S. consumers of the removal from eligibility for duty-free treatment under the GSP program of six HTS provisions for certain GSP countries.
The removals in consideration are:
1006.10.00 (Rice in the husk (paddy or rough)) from least-developed beneficiary developing countries (LDBDCs),
1006.20.20 (Basmati rice, husked) from LDBDCs,
1006.20.40 (Husked (brown) rice, other than basmati from LDBDCs,
1006.30.10 (Rice semi-milled or wholly milled, whether or not polished or glazed, parboiled) from all BDCs,
1006.30.90 (Rice semi-milled or wholly milled, whether or not polished or glazed, other than parboiled) from LDBDCs,
1006.40.00 (Broken rice) from LDBDCs.
Generalized System of Preferences: Possible Modifications, 2020 Review (Investigation No. 332-578), USITC publication 5118, September 2020) is available on the USITC’s Internet site at https://www.usitc.gov/sites/default/files/publications/332/pub5119.pdf.
USITC general factfinding investigations, such as this one cover matters related to tariffs or trade and are generally conducted at the request of the U.S. Trade Representative, the House Committee on Ways and Means, or the Senate Committee on Finance. The resulting reports convey the Commission’s objective findings and independent analyses on the subjects investigated. The Commission makes no recommendations on policy or other matters in its general factfinding reports. Upon completion of each investigation, the USITC submits its findings and analyses to the requester. General factfinding investigation reports are subsequently released to the public, unless they are classified by the requester for national security reasons.
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https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2020/er0928ll1650.htm
