U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently sent a joint letter to Congress urging the re-authorization of the GSP and other preference programs “at the earliest opportunity and for the longest period possible.”
Many of the letter’s themes could be taken right off Renew GSP Today:
-GSP imports “are used as inputs by U.S. companies to manufacture goods here in the United States”
-GSP imports “are particularly important to American small businesses, many of which rely on the programs’ duty savings to stay competitive”
-GSP imports “help American families on a budget by lowering prices on consumer goods”
-GSP expiration “has already cost U.S. businesses millions of dollars in additional import duties [and] increased costs to American manufacturers and consumers”
-“If the programs are not reauthorized soon, many U.S. importers may be forced to find other sources for their GSP and ATPA imports, raising costs for all”
USTR Kirk and SOS Clinton sent the letter to members of the House and Senate Leadership as well as the Chair and Ranking Members of the Senate Finance and Foreign Relations Committees and the House Ways and Means and Foreign Affairs Committees.
