GSP eliminates hundreds of thousands of dollars in tariffs annually on Cannon’s imports from Myanmar and Sri Lanka. The savings are passed along to Cannon’s customers, while helping those GSP countries “compete with giants like China.”

Watch CEO Frank Cannon explain how why its so important for Congress to renew GSP this year.

If you’re a GSP importer, submit your own video testimonial here.

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.

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

GSP saved New Hampshire companies $246,000 in May, up over $150,000 (170 percent) compared to one year earlier. Optical equipment from the Philippines and Sri Lanka, ice skates from Thailand, and meter parts from India contributed most to New Hampshire’s GSP increases.

GSP saved New Mexico companies $103,000 million in May, up $47,000 (84 percent) compared to one year earlier. Aluminum products from India, jewelry from the Philippines, and rubber gloves from Thailand contributed most to Virginia’s GSP increases.

In addition to New Hampshire and New Mexico, companies in 13 other states saw GSP savings increase by at least 20 percent, including: Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia.

Savings on GSP imports from Bosnia and Hezegovnia increased by 180 percent compared to May of last year. Louisiana companies’ purchases of silicon accounted for about 40 percent of GSP imports from the country. GSP eliminated about $120,000 in import taxes on keyboards in May, with about a three-quarters of those savings on imports into California.

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.

Overall, the value of GSP imports and tariff savings both increased by more than 10 percent compared to May 2015. Some states, such as Arkansas and Rhode Island, saw very large increases in GSP imports and savings compared to May 2015, as shown in the graphic below.

In Arkansas, GSP imports and savings both increased by 37 percent compared to one year earlier. Vanadium oxides and hydroxides from South Africa, firearms from Turkey, and transmission parts from Thailand contributed most to Arkansas’ GSP increases.

In Rhode Island, GSP imports increased by 79 percent and savings from GSP by 145 percent compared to one year earlier. Costume jewelry from Thailand, glass fibers from Sri Lanka, and metal picture frames from Turkey contributed most to Rhode Island’s GSP increases.

Imports from Cambodia jumped by 121 percent, led by increased imports of window blinds by companies in California. GSP eliminated about $109,000 in import taxes on buses in May and has waived more than $400,000 on imports of buses in the first five months of 2016.

Overall, the value of GSP imports and tariff savings both increased slightly compared to April 2015. Some states, such as South Carolina and New Hampshire, saw very large increases in GSP imports and savings compared to April 2015, as shown in the graphic below.

In South Carolina, GSP imports increased by 49 percent and savings from GSP by 48 percent compared to one year earlier. Plastics from Brazil, valves from Turkey, and motorcycles from Thailand contributed most to South Carolina’s GSP increases.

In New Hampshire, GSP imports increased by 317 percent and savings from GSP by 273 percent compared to one year earlier. Sporting goods from Thailand, optical devices from Sri Lanka and the Philippines, and parts for meters from India contributed most to New Hampshire’s GSP increases.

Imports from Bolivia jumped by 60 percent, led by increased imports of tungsten concentrates by companies in Nevada. GSP eliminated about $821,000 in import taxes on sugar and nearly 70 percent of those imports went to California.

GSP refund checks received to date by Ohio small business

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. The pictures above (or at least the checks in them) are worth SO much more.

The checks are the first GSP refunds for The Cannon Group, a small business in Westerville, Ohio that imports plastic bags for newspapers from Sri Lanka. For nearly 2 years while GSP was expired, the company had to pay higher taxes on every shipment.

Now that money is coming back – one check for each shipment – and is being put to good use.

The Cannon Group plans to add one full-time employee in September and is looking to add at least one new salesperson in the next 6 months. The refunds also saved the job of another employee that would’ve gone away due to the loss of other business. For this Ohio small business, at least 3 net jobs are tied to GSP renewal and refunds.

These moves shouldn’t come as a surprise. President Frank Cannon said nearly a year ago:

“With a loss of $700,000 to our bottom line we cannot afford to hire any new staff. If Congress renews GSP retroactively, we would definitely hire more staff.”

Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Pat Tiberi (R-OH) cited the company, based in the district, when introducing the legislation back in April. At the time, Mr. Tiberi said GSP renewal would help companies like The Cannon Group grow their businesses and “ultimately create jobs.”

And he was right. In addition to The Cannon Group, companies like Thompson Traders, Kona Bicycle, and Primetac all are benefiting immediately from GSP renewal.

What steps are you taking now that GSP has been renewed? We want to hear from you! 

Taxes paid range from a high of $134 million in California to a low of $153,000 in South Dakota. Even states with low(er) total taxes paid often bear the brunt for specific products. For example:

• South Dakota accounted for more than a third of taxes paid on wooden statuettes from Sri Lanka;
• Wyoming accounted for more than 80 percent of taxes paid on bone char imports from Brazil,
• West Virginia accounted for more than 80 percent of taxes paid on iron cores for ignition systems from Thailand.

This often reflects a single importer being hit with higher taxes on niche products. And they will continue to do so until Congress renews GSP.

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.

• 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.

The GSP’s importance to its beneficiary countries cannot be underestimated. The import program benefits more than 3.8 billion people living in two-thirds of the world’s economies. They rely on GSP duty-free exports to the United States to create tangible economic development.

The letter also noted that when GSP was allowed to expire for 10 months back in 2011:

U.S. imports of GSP-eligible items during that period decreased by over 17 percent, while overall U.S. imports increased by 15 percent.

We’re in the process of collecting company/association signatures for a similar U.S. business letter.  If you’d like your organization to be on that letter, just add your name (if you haven’t already) to our GSP Supporter List.  But act quick, as our letter will be going out VERY soon!