Lost GSP for India cost American companies an estimated $30.4 million in July, while lost GSP for Turkey cost them another $6.4 million. The impacts of the decisions are clear, as shown in the graph below. Before June, year-over-year GSP rose in 37 straight months.

GSP savings from other countries continued to grow, increasing $11.1 million (18%) from July 2018 to July 2019. Savings on imports from Cambodia grew by $8.1 million, from the Philippines by $2.7 million, and from Indonesia by $1.7 million

But growth from other countries was not able to offset the loss of GSP ineligibility for India and Turkey throughout the country: 41 states plus DC and Puerto Rico saw GSP savings decline from July 2018 to July 2019.

By value, the states with the largest year-over-year savings declines were New Jersey (-$3.4 million), New York (-$3.3 million), Florida (-$2.5 million), Texas (-$2.1 million), Michigan (-$1.3 million), South Carolina (-$1.1 million), Maryland (-$1.0 million), Kentucky (-$976,000), North Carolina (-$858,000), and Pennsylvania (-$852,000).

By percent, the states with the largest year-over-year savings declines were New Mexico (-87%), Louisiana (-78%), Vermont (-75%), Iowa (-72%), and West Virginia (-54%).

Impacts from the Turkey decision were felt throughout the country, as shown by the map below.

Among states hit the hardest were Missouri ($682,000 in tariffs paid) and Kentucky ($484,000), despite not generally being among the top states in overall GSP usage. In Missouri, new tariffs paid were almost exclusively on auto parts such as stampings, brakes, and motor vehicle locks. In Kentucky, the biggest impacts were on food products, followed by gaskets/mechanical seals.

Our April report – How GSP Termination would Hurt American Businesses & Workers – profiled numerous companies that expected (then-potential) GSP termination to hurt their American jobs and investment plans. If your company has been impacted by GSP termination for Turkey (or India), please use the button above to answer our impact survey.

The map below shows the overall value of 2018 GSP imports (in blue) and tax savings (in red) by state.

Increased GSP savings were both large and widespread:

• California saw savings increase by over $50 million (+36%), while New Jersey saw GSP savings jump by about $27 million (+42%).
• Maine‘s savings more than tripled – from about $500,000 in 2017 to nearly $1.6 million in 2018. Savings growth also was very high in Missouri (+59%), North Dakota (+54%), Kentucky (+34%), Delaware (+33%), and South Carolina (+30%).

However, recent decisions to terminate GSP eligibility for Turkey and India mean many of the American companies previously saving money due to GSP now face extra import taxes. Several dozen companies impacted by the decisions were profiled in the Coalition for GSP’s April report: How GSP Termination Would Hurt American Businesses & Workers.

Some states such as Kentucky and Virginia saw much larger increases in GSP imports and savings compared to the previous year, as shown in the graphic below.

GSP saved Kentucky companies $1.2 million in April, up over $307,000 (35 percent) compared to one year earlier. Yeasts from Brazil, electric motors from the Philippines, and wire harnesses from Indonesia contributed most to Kentucky’s GSP increases.

GSP saved Virginia companies $1.6 million in April, up over $555,000 (52 percent) compared to one year earlier. Plastics and auto parts from Brazil, travel goods from Cambodia, and from strawberries from Egypt contributed most to Virginia’s GSP increases.

In addition to Kentucky and Virginia, companies in 14 other states saw GSP savings increase by at least 20 percent, including: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Savings on GSP imports from Serbia increased by 25 percent compared to April of last year. Oklahoma companies’ purchases of auto parts accounted for nearly 20 percent of GSP imports from Serbia. GSP eliminated about $100,000 in import taxes on crab meat in April, with about a quarter of those savings on imports into Maryland.

More monthly GSP import and savings highlights are on our Graphics page.

REMINDER: GSP expires at the end of 2017. Click here to learn about ways to take action and support GSP renewal this year.

*** Tariffs on GSP imports are scheduled to go up on January 1. By the time that feels “close,” it may be too late to make a difference in Congress. So if you import under GSP and don’t see your organization here, please add it here today. ***

The companies are based in nine states and reflect the global nature of today’s economy: the companies reported importing from nine GSP beneficiary countries and exporting to 12 specific countries plus “Europe” as a whole. Even among the small businesses, two-thirds reported exporting some of the products that received duty-free benefits because of GSP last year.

The next potential GSP expiration is a little more than 8 months away. If you import under GSP, be sure to join our free GSP Supporter List so we can continue building the case for GSP renewal well in advance of the pending expiration date.

GSP Supporter List companies added the week of April 17, 2017:

• Best Deal Imports in Miami, Florida
• East West Marketing Inc. in Honolulu, Hawaii
• Green Chem Industries in West Palm Beach, Florida
• Jamtown, LLC in Edmonds, Washington
• K.G. International in Miami, Florida
• Keihin North America in Anderson, Indiana
• Metal Exchange Corporation in St. Louis, Missouri
• Mother Rhythm Drums in Bemidji, Minnesota
• Precision Replacement Parts in Weston, Wisconsin
• Oppenheimer Chocolates in Hillside, New Jersey
• Village Originals in Orlando, Florida
• Vogt Power International in Louisville, Kentucky

• total GSP imports, tariffs savings, and average tariffs waived on account of GSP in 2016;
• companies importing GSP-eligible products;
• top GSP imports by product type;
• top GSP source countries by tariff savings, and
• the extent to which recent GSP expiration periods prevented “real-time” user benefits.

GSP usage differs greatly between states, from the types of products they import to the dependence on suppliers in specific countries. For example:

• Colorado companies saved $4.5 million on imports of about $60 million, meaning average tariffs waived of about 7.5 percent. That was about twice the U.S. average and nearly triple the 2.6 percent average tariff waived in Louisiana.
• North Dakota‘s imports under GSP in 2016 were primarily food products (56 percent), whereas West Virginia‘s imports were auto parts (44 percent). In most states, a single product grouping accounted for at least a quarter of GSP imports.
• Iowa is among the most concentrated states in terms of source countries, with 94 percent of GSP savings on imports from just three countries (India, Brazil, and Thailand) in 2016. Florida is the least concentrated state, with less than half of GSP savings on imports from its top three source countries.
• Idaho importers have paid tariffs on GSP imports more often than not: nearly 60 percent of tariffs waived on imports into the state since 2011 came when GSP was expired, meaning companies paid up front and “hoped for the best” regarding refunds. Conversely, just 33 percent of New Hampshire‘s tariff savings came during expiration periods since 2011.

All reports are available for download, along with other state-specific info, on the state reports page. A sample of the Kentucky report is below.

From August 2013 to November 2014, companies paid an estimated $902 million in higher taxes because of GSP expiration. At $134 million through 16 months, California importers paid the most because of GSP expiration, followed by those in New Jersey ($82 million), Texas ($77 million), and New York ($64 million). GSP expiration has raised taxes on companies in new Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s home state of Kentucky by $25 million. In total, companies in 41 states plus Puerto Rico have paid at least $1 million because GSP remained expired.

The average tax faced because of GSP expiration was 3.7 percent, but companies in some states paid significantly higher rates. Rhode Island companies have faced average taxes on imports because of GSP expiration (7.1 percent), followed by Montana (5.8 percent) and new Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch’s home state of Utah (5.2 percent). Utah’s above-average rate is driven by high taxes on imports of bikes from Cambodia.

Given an average daily cost of $1.85 million, the direct cost of GSP expiration on American companies is expected to top $1 billion on January 22. These taxes have taken a terrible toll on companies, as shown by a survey last fall. It is critical that the new Congress pass an immediate, retroactive GSP renewal so that companies can stop paying, and start the refund process for, these unnecessary taxes.

There are many hundreds of companies that would benefit from renewal. If you’re not yet on that list but would like to see Congress renew GSP, please add your name here.

So we decided to conduct an experiment: we downloaded all of the Panjiva import records from GSP beneficiary countries for the most recent day available (Thursday, July 17) and examined each shipment to see if the company (likely) paid unnecessary taxes because Congress has failed to renew the program.

We found nearly 100 companies that likely paid taxes on that one day (full list after the jump) based in 24 states. The vast majority of them are not on the GSP supporter list – including some pretty BIG companies – meaning the constituent impacts are much greater than we have been able to highlight. At least they’re not on the list yet…we hope anyone that sees their company below will add it here.

Even this list significantly understates the actual number of companies that likely paid higher taxes last Thursday. That’s because we were conservative in identifying “likely GSP shipments.” For example, we skipped over all records that named a shipping company as the importer of record as well as records with vague product descriptions such as “granite” or “foodstuffs.” These are both major GSP imports, but GSP-eligibility depends on the type of granite and foodstuffs. Finally, there were about 4 times as many shipment records for July 16 as for July 17…would we have found 4 times as many companies had we chosen one day earlier? (We’d still be reviewing them, but may undertake that effort at a later date!)

So while far from perfect, here is the partial list of companies that likely got stuck paying higher taxes on July 17:

GSP supporter list companies importing GSP-eligible products (22):

• Acme Food Sales (Seattle, WA) – coconut water from Thailand
• Bridgestone Americas (Nashville, TN) – tires from Indonesia
• Camerican International (Paramus, NJ) – food products from Thailand
• Cummins Inc. (Columbus, IN) – engine parts from India
• Eastland Food Corporation (Jessup, MD) – food products from Thailand
• Eucatex of North America (Alpharetta, GA) – fiberboard from Brazil
• Felt Racing LLC (Irvine, CA) – bicycles from Cambodia
• Fusion Gourmet (Gardena, CA) – candy from Indonesia
• Handy International (Salisbury, MD) – seafood products from Thailand
• Henry W. Peabody & Co. (Lynnfield, MA) – polypropylene products from Indonesia
• International Packaging Films (Norwood, NJ) – polyester films from India
• Jaunty Co. (Los Angeles, CA) – hand-tufted carpets from India
• Kas Oriental Rugs (Somerset, NJ) – hand-tufted carpets from India
• Loloi Inc. (Dallas, TX) – hand-tufted carpets from India
• LR Resources (Dalton, GA) – hand-tufted carpets from India
• M.S. International (Batavia, CA) – stone products from Brazil and Turkey
• Primetac (Little Ferry, NJ) – adhesive tape from Indonesia
• Sumitomo Electric Wiring Systems (Edmonton, KY) – copper wire from Indonesia
• Universal Arquati (Santa Clarita, CA) – wooden picture-frame moulding from Indonesia
• Via Motif (Miami, FL) – handicrafts from Indonesia
• Yaraghi LLC (Port Washington, NY) – hand-tufted carpets from India
• Zebra Pen Corp. (Edison, NJ) – ballpoint pens from India

Other GSP supporter list companies (product descriptions too vague to determine GSP eligibility (9):

• General Electric (Fairfield, CT)
• Michelin North America (Greenville, SC)
• Napa Rayloc (Atlanta, GA)
• Omicron Supply (Pompano Beach, FL)
• Pantai USA (Doral, FL)
• S&V Industries (Fairlawn, OH)
• Tumac Lumber (Portland, OR)
• Universal Forest Products (Union City, GA)
• Venture Lighting (Solon, OH)

Non-supporter companies importing GSP-eligible products (60):

• Abaline Supply Co. (Port Reading, NJ) – plastic cups from India
• ABB Power (Jefferson City, MO) – parts for electrical transformers from India
• Acme Mfg. Co. (Denver, CO) – aluminum alloy extruded products from India
• AKG Thermal Systems (Mebane, NC) – oil coolers from India
• Amber International (West Orange, NJ) – plastic tubes with caps from Thailand
• American Honda Motor Company Parts Center (Chino, CA) – auto parts from Thailand
• Arrowpak Inc. (Richmond Hill, NY) – glass bottles from India
• Atlapac Trading Company (Commerce, CA) – sweet corn in brine from Thailand
• Atlas Global Supply (Arlington, TX) – metal clothes hangers from Cambodia
• Aurolife Pharma LLC (Dayton, NJ) – high-density polyethylene (plastic) bottles from India
• Bacova Guild Ltd. (Covington, VA) – rubber mats from India
• Barbara Cosgrove Lamps (North Kansas City, MO) – handicrafts from India
• Carbon Activated Corp. (Compton, CA) – activated carbon from Sri Lanka
• Castings Inc. (Grand Junction, CO) – sanitary castings from India
• Chem One Ltd. (Houston, TX) – sodium formate from Turkey
• CLP Chemicals (Houston, TX) – glycerine from Indonesia
• Collaborative Advantage Marketing (Birmingham, MI) – coconut water from Thailand
• Del Valle, Kahman & Company (Buena Park, CA) – plywood from Indonesia
• Design by Deekay (Montclair, CA) – incense from India
• Donau Carbon Corporation (Springfield, NJ) – activated carbon from India
• Eagle Ottawa (Auburn Hills, MI) – buffalo leather from India
• G.L. Food Wholesale (City of Industry, CA) – soy sauce from the Philippines
• Gemini Food Corporation (Walnut, CA) – chili sauce from Thailand
• Global Agri-Trade Corporation (Long Beach, CA) – palmitic acid from Indonesia
• Goodman Manufacturing Company (Houston, TX) – air conditioning parts from Thailand
• Hankook Tire America Corp. (Wayne, NJ) – tires from Indonesia
• Home Design Store (Coral Gables, FL) – wooden products from India
• Homegoods (Framingham, MA) – brooms from Sri Lanka
• IKEA Supply (Perryville, MD) – ceramic sanitarywares from Turkey
• Innoleo LLC (Boca Raton, FL) – ricinoleic acid from India
• Kimberly-Clark Global Sales (Romeoville, IL) – latex gloves from Thailand
• Ludlow Composites (Fremont, OH) – rubber mats from India
• Main Street Décor (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) – wooden picture frames from Indonesia
• Mizuno USA (Norcross, GA) – batting gloves from Indonesia
• MM Composite Inc. (Fort Madison, IA) – epoxide resin from Thailand
• Montebello Packaging (Lebanon, KY) – aluminum discs from Thailand
• Nissan North America (Canton, MS) – steering components from Brazil
• Nitta Gelatin (Morrisville, NC) – gelatin from India
• Pacific Coral Seafood (Miami, FL) – frozen fried plantains from Ecuador
• Panamerican Food LLC (Miami, FL) – frozen bakery products from Uruguay
• Perfette Van Melle (Hebron, KY) – sugar-free gum from Turkey
• Pharmexcipient Inc. (Boca Raton, FL) – microchrystaline cellulose from Brazil
• Platinum Goods Corp. (Miami, FL) – coconut water from Brazil
• Pro Comp USA (Chula Vista, CA) – leaf springs from India
• Ramcar Batteries (Commerce, CA) – lead-acid storage batteries from the Philippines
• Rice Import USA (Hicksville, NY) – parboiled rice from Pakistan
• Rubbermaid Commercial Products (Winchester, VA) – brooms from Sri Lanka
• Spazio Marble and Granite (Lake Worth, FL) – travertine from Brazil
• Spicy Sense (Los Angeles, CA) – coconut milk from Thailand
• Stash Tea Company (Tigard, OR) – lemongrass from Thailand
• Stauber California (Fullerton, CA) – papaya fruit powder from India
• Sullair Corporation (Michigan City, IN) – air intake filters from Turkey
• Summit Flexible Products (Dayton, OH) – rubber floor mats from India
• Sun Lee Inc. (Los Angeles, CA) – corn and other food products from Thailand
• Superior Mfg. Group (Bedford Park, IL) – rubber floor mats from India
• Tecumseh Compressor Co. (Ann Arbor, MI) – electrical relays from Brazil
• TG Medical USA (Azusa, CA) – latex gloves from Thailand
• The Incense Works Inc. (Pleasant Lake, IN) – incense from India
• Vipac Inc. (Edison, NJ) – plastic bags from India
• Viraj USA (Garden City, NY) – threaded metal products from India

Again, if your company is in that last group and you want to add your name to the free GSP supporter list, you can do it here.

California companies paid an estimated $34 million in new import taxes over those four months, so it’s not surprising that there are more companies on the GSP supporter list from California (57) than any other state. Importers in New Jersey and Texas each paid more than $20 million in higher taxes from August to November.

The average (previously) GSP-eligible import faces tariffs of 3.7%, but some importers in some states pay much more. Rhode Island importers faced the highest average tariffs (6.6%), followed by Idaho (6.0%), Oregon (5.5%), Kentucky (5.1%), and Utah (4.8%).

Taxes paid by companies in both Indiana and Virginia jumped more than 30% from September to October, to $1.2 million and $1.1 million, respectively. More than a quarter of taxes paid by Indiana companies were on imports of ferrosilicon – a raw material used to manufacture steel – from Russia.

Virginia importers of nuts and seeds from Turkey faced tariffs of 17.9%, paying $32,000 in taxes on just $178,000 of imports. Red River Foods in Richmond, which imported multiple shipments of blanched hazelnuts from Turkey in October, is one of the companies likely facing higher prices because of GSP expiration. While the October taxes are bad, Red River Foods has brought in at least 3 more shipments of hazelnuts from Turkey since November (according to Panjiva), so the costs continue to add up.

The other states where companies paid at least a million dollars in GSP taxes in October were (from highest to lowest): New Jersey, Texas, New York, Illinois, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Maryland, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Connecticut.

If Congress adjourns for the year without passing a retroactive renewal, American companies throughout the United States will pay tens of millions of dollars while waiting for Congress to return in early 2014 – and considerably more if GSP renewal is further delayed.