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GSP Petitioners Want More Than a Dozen Textile Goods From Cambodia Added, Call for India Removal

October 19, 2017 by Brian Bradley|Top News

Groups filed petitions to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative through Oct. 17 requesting changes in the status of country and tariff treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences, including a petition to add 16 HTS subheadings of garment products from Cambodia and two petitions to remove India from the program altogether.

Noting that Cambodian garments are currently subject to a U.S. average most-favored nation tariff rate of 16.8 percent, the ministry of commerce at the Embassy of Cambodia in Washington requested that the U.S. accord GSP tariff-free treatment to the following HTS subheadings:

In addition to Cambodian requests to apply tariff-free treatment for certain textiles from their nation, the economic section of the Embassy of Brazil in Washington submitted a letter of support for a request by the Brazilian Association of Companies of Components for Leather, Footwear and Manufactured Goods to add GSP benefits for HTS codes 2917.12.10 (adipic acid) and 2917.12 (adipic acid salts and esters) imported from Brazil.

The Indian Council for Leather Exports, sponsored by the Indian Commerce and Industry Ministry, petitioned for the addition of GSP benefits to footwear of “at least” of HTS headings 6403 (Footwear with outer soles of rubber, plastics, leather or composition leather and uppers of leathers) and 6404 (Footwear, with outer soles of rubber, plastics, leather or composition leather and uppers of textile materials), imported from India. U.S. import tariffs for footwear range from 4.3 percent to 37.5 percent, the council noted. Furthermore, the council said it believes that shoes entered under those headings aren’t manufactured in the U.S.

Also petitioning for an expansion of Indian GSP benefits was the Indian Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, sponsored by the Indian Commerce and Industry Ministry. The group noted that articles under the following HTS subheadings imported from India were removed from GSP treatment in 2008, and that they currently don’t exceed $165 million in U.S. imports and 50 percent of total U.S. imports of the products, meaning they shouldn’t be subject to U.S. competitive needs limitations. The council requested the reapplication of GSP benefits to:

But not all petitions involving India called for an addition of GSP treatment, with both the U.S. Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) and a joint petition from the U.S. Dairy Export Council and National Milk Producers Federation urging USTR to reduce India’s access to the U.S. market through GSP. India continues to provide less than fair access for U.S. dairy and medical device exports, the groups said in their respective submissions. India has been “quite clearly” opposed to complying with even its World Trade Organization obligations for dairy products, maintaining “unscientific requirements” for dairy imports and refusing “extensive good-faith efforts” to restore bilateral trade in dairy products, the dairy groups said. AdvaMed called for USTR to partly or completely suspend or withdraw Indian GSP benefits. India’s unfair restrictions against medical device imports include price controls, including for coronary stents, effectively forcing foreign companies to sell within India at a loss.

The Dow Chemical Company requested that USTR remove from GSP benefits for nitrocellulose imports from Brazil and Thailand under HTS Subheading 3912.20. Although there are no U.S. producers of industrial nitrocellulose -- used for printing inks, wood coatings and nail varnishes -- Midland, Mich.-headquartered Dow has a “significant economic interest” in the matter, it said. Brazil and Thailand don’t allow any imports of industrial nitrocellulose, and therefore aren’t providing equitable and reasonable access to their markets, Dow wrote. Atum Services petitioned for removal of bone black (HTS Subheading 3802.90.10) from Brazil from GSP treatment, noting that its more than $5 million in operating losses over the four-and-a-half years ended March 31, was a “direct result” of lost sales to producers of water filtration media incorporating bone black imported from Brazil. Atum imports bone black from Mexico to use in production of filtration media incorporated into industrial wastewater treatment systems, it said.