Trump Administration to Implement Additional Vetting Process for GSP Beneficiaries
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will have a “heightened focus” on finishing ongoing Generalized System of Preferences reviews and the Trump administration will start a three-year process to assess each GSP beneficiary country’s compliance with statutory eligibility criteria, USTR announced. The new effort to ensure beneficiary countries meet GSP eligibility benchmarks will complement the current USTR petition-receipt-and-public-comment process for country practice reviews, "which will remain unchanged," USTR said. The first assessment will examine Asian GSP beneficiary countries, and the administration will review GSP beneficiary countries in other parts of the world during the second and third years, USTR said. The review of Asian beneficiary countries will include India, a USTR spokeswoman said in an email. Trade associations recently petitioned for India's removal from GSP, citing unfair restrictions on U.S. dairy and medical device exports (see 1710190022). Any GSP compliance issues could result in a self-initiated executive branch “full country practice review” of the nation’s continued eligibility for the program, USTR said.
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"Countries receiving U.S. trade benefits must meet the eligibility criteria established by Congress,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement. “By creating a more proactive process to assess beneficiary countries’ eligibility, the United States can ensure that countries that are not playing by the rules do not receive U.S. trade preferences. This sets the correct balance for a system that helps incentivize economic reform in developing countries and achieve a level playing field for American businesses.” Beneficiary countries must meet 15 eligibility criteria established by Congress, including combating child labor, respecting internationally recognized worker rights, and providing adequate and effective intellectual property protection, USTR noted.