APB: Calling All GSP Importers in Alaska, Hawaii, and Montana
Now approaching 240 companies and associations, our GSP Supporter List continues to grow. While companies on the list are headquartered in 37 states (plus DC and PR), we’re looking for at least one company in each state, so we’ll be sending out these “all points bulletins” over the next week trying to find importers in...
Continue readingSharing Means Caring….About GSP Renewal
Site traffic is way up over the last two days, but not from the usual sources (e.g., google searches, links we’ve sent, etc.). In fact, we haven’t been able to track them at all. That likely means one thing: you all are forwarding the links to colleagues in volumes that we have not seen to...
Continue readingHow Much is a Sleeping Bag Worth?
Bloomberg News has an article today on GSP expiration called “Sleeping-Bag King Forces Duties on $22.6 Billion in U.S. Imports.” Unfortunately, the link is for subscribers only, but it makes some interesting points. Here’s one fun fact: $22.6 billion worth of GSP imports in 2010 must now pay tariffs to prevent GSP benefits f...
Continue readingNew “Email Your Representatives” Page
Yesterday, we launched a new page that allows you to email the staff contact that handles trade issues for the 435 congressional districts. Similar to the cleverly titled “Email Your Senators” page, this one is called “Email Your Representatives.” If you’re not sure which district you’re in, there’s a...
Continue readingUpdated GSP Supporter List by CD
With its most recent update, our Supporter List now includes companies operating in 41 states and 240 congressional districts. You can download the list of GSP Supporters by district here. You can add your company name by emailing here. If you don’t have time to look for yourself, we’ve pulled out the congressional districts...
Continue reading“We Could Hire Another Employee if GSP is Renewed”
That’s from one of the newest responses to our GSP expiration poll. More than 75 percent of this small, Arizona-based company’s revenues come from products imported under GSP, so it has experienced across-the-board cost increases since GSP expired. Often, the smallest businesses are hurt the most by expiration. Take the comp...
Continue readingGSP Supporter List Continues to Grow
Nearly two months after posting our GSP Supporter List, companies continue contacting us and requesting to be added. In fact, we added 9 new companies today, bringing our total to 220 organizations. The full list is available here. If you haven’t done so already, you can add your company by emailing here. If you’re already.....
Continue readingQuick Hits from GSP Expiration Poll
About 90 companies have responded to our GSP Expiration Poll. If your company is impacted and you haven’t responded yet, please do so at the link above! We’ll compile a formal report after we get some more responses, but a couple quick takeaways from the answers to date: Retroactive vs. Prospective Renewal – the overwh...
Continue readingGSP Renewal Prognosis: “little progress will be made toward an agreement”
That’s the takeaway from an article in today’s Roll Call about sleeping bags and GSP renewal. The article notes that Senator Sessions is content to block GSP renewal because “he believes he’s on the side of fairness.” Do you think it’s “fair” that companies throughout the United States are being...
Continue readingHow can there be growth if we cannot afford to hire?
That question was asked by a respondent to our GSP Expiration Poll.* Unfortunately, the question is not simply rhetorical. The Connecticut-based company has less than 25 employees, but its tariff payments have increased by $45,000 to $70,000 per month since GSP expired. According to the company: “We have had to slash o...
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