Last Friday, we asked companies to use our Email Your Senators page and urge support for GSP renewal legislation when it comes up for votes starting later today.  Thanks to everyone that took the time to reach out, but we still need more contacts.

Not sure what to write?  Here are excepts from just some of the 100+ emails we’ve been copied on so far:

  • Our company employs over 1100 associates. The lapse in GSP authorization has already cost our company $1 million of dollars in additional import duties. If the program is not reauthorized, some of our operations may be forced to be eliminated in the future.

  • GSP expiration has cost [us] more than $15,000 in new tariffs on imports of Candy from Brazil. If the GSP does not pass we may have to lay off people and even considering closing the company.

  • GSP expiration has cost [us] more than $1,000,000 in new tariffs on imports of construction industry steel castings from India. The GSP fee has put a tremendous burden on our company as we have not been able to pass this on to our customers. We therefore are depending on you and your fellow legislators to pass this bill retroactively so that we can recover our losses for this year.

  • GSP expiration has cost us more than $15,000 in new tariffs on imports of handmade products from India. Our mission is to create sustainable employment for marginalized artisans in India and the GSP expiration is affecting the sustainability of the entire chain.

  • GSP expiration has cost us more than $31,000 in new tariffs on imports of confectionary from Brazil. In this era of very tight bank money, we are closing in our newly reduced bank borrowing base. During this heavy import holiday season, if we reach our borrowing limit and cannot import more candy, we may have to lay off some of our 17 employees. Not a good thing in any year, but especially not now.

  • Our company distributes to the ultra kosher market in New York and beyond. Our company opened in 1999 with 2 employees and is now employing 25 personnel. Since lots of kosher candies are being imported due to the nature of their strict production guidelines, this GSP means very much to us and is putting at risk our business. Cutting jobs is on the table and could start happening very soon if the GSP is not being renewed.

  • GSP expiration has cost [us] more than $100,000 in new tariffs on imports of home accessories from India. This money takes away from hiring and getting health care options to our employees.

  • GSP expiration has cost [us] more than $400,000 in new tariffs. Our company employees three people and was making plans to hire a fourth until the GSP expired. Instead we have had to raise prices significantly. There are no US manufacturers that make a similar product – and there never was any. We compete primarily with Chinese copy products who export without any US employees and do not pay any US taxes.

  • Combined with such a weak economy, a jump in raw materials costs and most of all, a very weak dollar, my company has been hit with a “triple whammy” in the past year. Renewing GSP would help a lot and give us a chance to survive this.

  • We are a two-person, woman-run business that is already struggling with the sky rocketing cost of silver, gold and precious metals. This cuts into our modest profit margin a great deal. The impact of the GSP Expiration could mean that we are barely receiving a check at all at this point and into the future.

  • We manufacture footwear components from sole leather purchased in Argentina. Our largest customers are based in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Texas, Maine, Washington, and Pennsylvania. There is no sole leather made in the USA today, thus it has to be imported. The higher cost due to the expiration of the GSP threatens not only jobs in our factory, but (as noted above) literally coast to coast.

  • GSP expiration has cost [us] more than $80,000 in new tariffs on imports of Glycine from India! Due to the fact that we are a two-employee company the $80K is preventing me from making payroll monthly etc. PLS HELP!

  • GSP expiration has cost my company more than $80,000 in new tariffs on imports of Woven PP Sand Bags from Indonesia. We are a small company so we can ill afford to pay out these extra duties. These duties are for sand bags imported from Indonesia which are used in disaster relief, primarily floods, by government agencies as well a private efforts. Normally duty free, these additional duties put an increased financial burden on those agencies and companies providing disaster relief as well as to the tax payers and consumers who ultimately must pay for the increased cost of these bags.

  • GSP expiration has cost us more than $4500.00 in new tariffs on imports of acrylic sheet from Indonesia. This situation has put a halt to importing a material critical to our revenue stream and has eliminated our ability to be cost-competitive compared with our much larger competitors.

  • GSP expiration has cost [us] more than $250,000 in new tariffs on imports of costume and fashion jewelry from Thailand and India. We employee 200 employees in the U.S. that soley rely on our sales of jewelry to all of the major retailers in the US for their livelihood, but we cannot continue to absorb these tariffs and remain a viable, healthy company.