US GSP reauthorised with retroactive effect

On Friday, 21 October 2011, President Obama signed into law the reauthorisation of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP). GSP reauthorisation will become effective on Saturday, 5 November 2011 and will remain in effect through 31 July 2013. The bill also makes GSP benefits retroactive to 1 January 2011.

As the GSP programme was renewed retroactively, Sri Lankan exporters will be reimbursed for tariffs paid during the gap period. Exporters who filed their entries electronically used the appropriate Special Programmes Indicator (SPI).

For entries made without using the SPI, exporters should request refunds of duties deposited. Such requests should be made in writing to Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) within 180 days of the reauthorisation of the GSP programme (i.e., by Wednesday, 18 April 2012).

In some cases, given the anticipated volume of requests, duties collected may take up to 90 days to process and refund retroactively. For more information please reference the CBP website at: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/trade_programs/international_agreements/special_trade_programs/

The GSP was instituted on 1 January 1976, by the Trade Act of 1974. The United States’ GSP is a programme designed to promote economic growth in the developing world by providing preferential duty-free entry for up to 4,800 products from 129 designated beneficiary countries and territories, including Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka benefited from GSP treatment on approximately $ 147 million of goods in 2010.

As part of the normal GSP process in the United States, the US Trade Representative’s office (USTR) receives petitions to withdraw or limit a country’s benefits on criteria including whether a country is taking steps to afford internationally recognised standards for worker rights.

In the context of the 2009 review, USTR accepted petitions to review whether Sri Lanka met GSP eligibility criteria related to worker rights. That review is still pending and the U.S. Government continues to have productive discussions with the Government of Sri Lanka. GSP benefits are unaffected throughout this review process. Questions may be emailed to the U.S. Embassy at: [email protected].