Petitioners Withdraw CNL Waiver Petitions, as USTR Considers Exemptions for 2016/2017 GSP Review
Petitioners withdrew the competitive need limitation (CNL) waiver petitions from the 2016/2017 Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Annual Review for the following products that didn’t surpass CNL thresholds for 2016, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said (here):
- Monumental or building stone & arts. thereof, nesoi, further worked than simply cut/sawn, nesoi (HTS 6802.99.00) from Brazil
- Fresh or chilled dasheens, whether or not sliced or in the form of pellets (HTS 0714.90.10) from Ecuador
- Edible products of animal origin, not elsewhere specified or included (HTS 0410.00.00) from Indonesia
- New pneumatic tires, of rubber: Of a kind used on buses or trucks: Radial (HTS 4011.20.10) from Indonesia
- Transmission apparatus for radio-broadcasting or television, whether or not incorporating reception apparatus or sound recording or reproducing apparatus; television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders: Television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders: Other (HTS 8525.80.30) from Thailand
- Optical fibers and optical fiber bundles; optical fiber cables other than those of heading 8544; sheets and plates of polarizing material; lenses (including contact lenses), prisms, mirrors and other optical elements, of any material, unmounted, other than such elements of glass not optically worked: Spectacle lenses of other materials (HTS 9001.50.00) from Thailand.
USTR is still considering a CNL waiver petition for HTS 4409.10.05, “Wood continuously shaped along any of its ends, whether or not also continuously shaped along any of its edges or faces, all the foregoing whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed,” from Brazil, the agency said.
USTR is accepting comments until midnight March 22 on possible de minimis CNL and possible re-designations of articles not eligible for GSP benefits due to exceeding CNL thresholds, USTR said (here). No articles were subject to CNL waiver revocation for 2016, USTR said. To provide notice of articles that have exceeded the CNLs for 2016 and give opportunity for comment on potential de minimis waivers and re-designations for 2016, USTR is expected on March 3 to post product lists (here) to include, for each article: The HTS subheading, beneficiary developing country of origin, value of imports for the 2016 calendar year, and the percentage of total U.S. imports of the article from all countries, USTR said. Exclusions from GSP duty-free treatment for exceeded CNLs will be effective July 1, unless President Donald Trump grants a waiver, USTR said.
(Federal Register 03/03/17)