Even before upward revisions, U.S. companies’ tax benefits from GSP showed massive increases from past years: American companies saved nearly $20 million per month more in 2017 because of GSP compared to just two years earlier.

Through the first half of 2018, GSP savings are up an additional 18 percent and on track to crack $1 billion for the year. While Congress renewed GSP through 2020 to give companies the certainty necessary to encourage such growth, the Trump administration has launched a number of country “eligibility reviews” that could raise taxes for American companies that depend on GSP – by a lot.

There are GSP reviews underway for India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, and Turkey. American companies saved $544 million last year due to GSP for those countries. Collectively, they accounted for 61 percent of GSP savings on imports from all countries.

Given the risk of lost GSP, we strongly encourage companies importing from those countries to sign up for our GSP supporter list and take our review impacts survey, which are both free.

In terms of specific revisions based on the new data, New Jersey saw the biggest jump in savings by value, followed by Florida, California, Georgia, and New York.

Montana saw the biggest jump in GSP savings by percent, followed by Utah, Maine, Florida, and Nevada.

For supplier countries, the largest revision in US savings came on imports from the Philippines, followed by Indonesia, India, Thailand, and Brazil.

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

GSP saved Pennsylvania companies $2.8 million in July, up over $1.1 million (63 percent) compared to one year earlier. Chromium from Kazakhstan, candy from Thailand, and pesticides from India contributed most to Pennsylvania’s GSP increases.

GSP saved Iowa companies $715,000 in July, up over $283,000 (65 percent) compared to one year earlier. Pesticides from India, gelatin from Brazil, and rubber piping from Turkey contributed most to Iowa’s GSP increases.

In addition to Pennsylvania and Iowa, companies in 21 other states saw GSP savings increase by at least 20 percent, including: Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming.

Savings on GSP imports from Sri Lanka increased by 51 percent compared to July of last year. Ohio companies’ purchases of activated carbon accounted for nearly $1.4 million GSP imports from Sri Lanka. GSP eliminated about $548,000 in import taxes on packaging plastics in July, with approximately a quarter of those savings coming from imports into South Carolina.

*** REMINDER: GSP EXPIRES IN JUST A FEW MONTHS.***

Please use our Contact Congress page to write your Members today about the need to renew GSP today. That page makes it quick and easy to email both Senators and your Representative. All you need to do is: 1) enter your contact info, 2) enter a few sentences about your company/GSP imports, and 3) click send.

GSP imports were up by 15 percent – and tariffs savings were up by 17 percent – compared to a year earlier. Some states such as Nebraska and Maryland saw much larger increases in GSP imports and savings compared to the previous year, as shown in the graphic below.

GSP saved Nebraska companies $105,000 thousand in June, up $42,000 (68 percent) compared to one year earlier. Activated carbon from the Philippines, copper alloys and rubber stoppers from India, and aluminum frames from Thailand contributed most to Nebraska’s GSP increases.

GSP saved Maryland companies $2.1 million in June, up over $450,000 (28 percent) compared to one year earlier. Silicon from Kazakhstan, carbides from South Africa, and zinc from India contributed most to Maryland’s GSP increases.

In addition to Nebraska and Maryland, companies in 17 other states saw GSP savings increase by at least 20 percent, including: Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Savings on GSP imports from Lebanon increased by 58 percent compared to June of last year. Illinois companies’ purchases of nuts accounted for nearly $250,000 of the GSP imports from Lebanon. GSP eliminated about $471,000 in import taxes on steering wheels in June, with more than a fifth of those savings on imports into Michigan.

Overall, GSP tariff savings increased increased by 8 percent compared to March 2015. The value of imports under GSP increased 6 percent. Some states, such as Iowa and Missouri, saw ever bigger increases in GSP imports and savings compared to March 2015, as shown in the graphic below.

In Iowa, GSP imports increased by 152 percent and savings from GSP by 304 percent compared to one year earlier. Chemicals from India and gelatin from Brazil contributed most to Iowa’s GSP increases. In Missouri, GSP imports increased by 48 percent and savings from GSP by 17 percent compared to one year earlier. Engines from South Africa, auto parts from Turkey, and chemicals from India contributed most to Missouri’s GSP increases.

Imports from Kazakhstan jumped by 238 percent, led by increased imports of ferrochromium by companies in Ohio. GSP eliminated about $108,000 in import taxes on olive oil and nearly half of those imports went to New Jersey.

• They are headquartered in 42 states (plus DC) and 221 congressional districts and you can download the list by supporter list by congressional district here.
• They range from sole proprietors to some of the largest corporations in the world, but about 78% are small businesses with 100 or less employees, and the median number of employees is just 15.
• GSP savings range from as little as $1,000 to millions of dollars per year.
• They import from more than a quarter of GSP-eligible countries, including: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Ecuador, Egypt, Georgia, Ghana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Uruguay.

For those comparing to our last update, we’ve added 2 states (New Hampshire and Vermont), a number of new CDs, enough very small businesses to drop the median employees from 17 to 15,  and one new GSP-eligible country (Ukraine).

If you’re not yet on the list, be sure to add your name here.

In the first two months of 2011, American companies imported $185 million worth of ferrochromium, ferrosilicon, ferrosilicon manganese, and other alloys.  Imports were up $72.8 million from the same period in 2010, despite a decline in GSP shipments from South Africa, the top supplier country.  Other countries picked up the slack – and then some:  imports from Georgia increased by $38 million and those from Russia by $23 million.  Imports from Kazakhstan, India, Turkey, Albania, and Brazil all increased by $3-10 million.

Of course, when GSP is expired, rising import values aren’t necessarily a good thing:  steel producers paid more than $5.2 million in new tariffs in just two months.

If that wasn’t bad enough, considering that nearly 2 more months have passed, the actual cost could be approaching $10 million.

Unfortunately, we don’t have any ferroalloy importers in our GSP importer database, so we can’t say who exactly is paying these new costs.  If you’re stuck paying higher prices and want to drop us a line, we’ll be happy to update the post.