Today, the Coalition for GSP joined with 627 other American companies and associations to send a letter urging the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees to pass, without further delay, legislation that would retroactively renew the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program.

The letter comes as GSP expiration is about to enter its 20th month, the longest in program history. To date, American companies have paid more than $1 billion in higher taxes on account of GSP expiration. That figure grows by nearly $2 million for each additional day that GSP remains expired.

As Dan Anthony, Executive Director of the Coalition for GSP stated in a press release about the letter: “GSP expiration has forced many American companies to lay off workers, delay new hires, cut benefits, and cancel job-creating investments. The longer GSP remains expired, the worse it gets.”

The companies signing the letter are headquartered in 45 states and 286 congressional districts, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The vast majority of companies are small businesses with less than 100 employees.