Thomas Snyder of Warehouse Associates in Indianapolis, Indiana, which supplies components to large American equipment manufacturers, expects speculative investments to decline and possible benefits changes for warehouse workers if GSP remains expired. He added: “Where to find $600k? Major customers are not accepting the pass-through asking us to find savings elsewhere.”

Another company (that asked not to be named) said it will reduce the profit margin by 5-10% on impacted products and still expects sales to decline by 5% because some price increases will be necessary. Lower margins and lower sales is not a recipe for growth: the small business may cancel plans to add 3,000 square feet to its facility and 2-3 more employees this year if GSP is not renewed in early 2018.

Those companies are just three of the nearly 400 American companies and associations that sent a letter yesterday to Congressional leaders urging swift, retroactive renewal of the GSP program.

GSP expired on December 31 and companies must now pay $2-3 million per day in extra taxes while awaiting a potential congressional reauthorization. The last time GSP expired, Congress did not renew it for nearly 2 years and companies paid about $1.3 billion in tariffs.

Despite broad, bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, GSP renewal did not get a vote in 2017. Earlier this week, a White House official reportedly said the Trump Administration supports a three-year GSP extension and would like to see Congress act “this this year.”

Companies and associations that wish to be included on future letters (or stay informed of similar initiatives) should add their name to the free GSP supporter list here. Companies can also use our contact Congress tool to email your Representatives and Senators about the need to renew GSP.

Who benefits the most from GSP? Globally engaged small businesses. Over 80 percent of the GSP supporter list companies have 100 or fewer employees. The typical company has 15 employees and saved $100,000 in 2016 – a huge amount for companies of that size. GSP savings improve US export competitiveness as well: 43 percent of these GSP importers export.

Tyoga Container Company in Tioga, Pennsylvania, one of the newly added GSP supporter companies, meets nearly all of those criteria. The 78-employee company imports dunnage air bags from India and Turkey and GSP saved it $126,000 in 2016. While Tyoga does not export the products directly, “dunnage” bags are specialty products designed to hold cargo in place during shipping, meaning GSP savings further reduce costs for domestic shippers and U.S. exporters alike.

If your organization cares about GSP renewal and is not yet on the list, please take a moment to add it here now. Adding a name is free and will help the Coalition for GSP’s efforts over the coming 2 months to avoid another costly lapse in GSP benefits.

Who benefits the most from GSP? Globally engaged small businesses. Over 80 percent of the GSP supporter list companies have 100 or fewer employees. The typical company has 13 employees and saved $100,000 in 2016 – a huge amount for companies of that size. GSP savings improve US export competitiveness as well: 45 percent of these GSP importers export.

If your organization cares about GSP renewal and is not yet on the list, please take a moment to add it here now. Adding a name is free and will help the Coalition for GSP’s efforts to avoid another costly lapse in GSP benefits.

NOTE: Tariffs on GSP-eligible may increase on January 1. Show Congress that GSP renewal is important to your organization by joining the GSP Supporter List here today. Sign up is free.

The companies reported importing from 7 GSP countries and exporting to at least 18 countries around the world. (Some reported whole regions such as “Asia” as opposed to individual countries.) About half of the companies export some of their GSP-eligible products.

For example, GSP saved Labo America in Fremont, California about $100,000 in 2016. The 10-person company not only imports microscopes from India, it exports to GSP beneficiary countries such as Brazil and Sri Lanka, FTA partners including Mexico and Peru, and other countries including Japan, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

GSP saved Samick Music Corporation in Gallatin, Tennessee (just outside of Nashville) about $130,000 in 2016. The company’s 14,000-square foot headquarters and 200,000-square foot warehouse are used for piano manufacturing as well as piano and guitar warehousing and servicing. Samick imports guitars and pianos from Indonesia under GSP and exports pianos from Tennessee to China, Germany, Indonesia, and Japan.

GSP expiration is exactly 8 months away. If you import under GSP, please join our GSP Supporter List and help us build the case for GSP renewal. There are no costs associated with joining the list.

GSP Supporter List companies added the week of April 24, 2017:

• American Omni Trading in Houston, Texas
• Bakner Manufacturing in Canton, Georgia
• Best Flowers in San Bruno, California
• BTR International, Inc. in New York, New York
• Charming Shark in Osprey, Florida
• Colony Brands in Monroe, Wisconsin
• Continental Foods Inc. in Cerritos, California
• Decotone Surfaces LLC in Garwood, New Jersey
• Eucatex North America in Alpharetta, Georgia
• Fusion Gourmet, Inc. in Rancho Dominguez, California
• International Dunnage in Thunderbolt, Georgia
• JBH Intertrade in Garden City, New York
• JSA, Inc. in Aventura, Florida
• Kirkland Associates, Ltd. in McMinnville, Oregon
• KOUBOO LLC in Laguna Beach, California
• Labo America inc. in Fremont, California
• Marta Howell Inc. in Las Vegas, Nevada
• Metal Marketplace International in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Novita in Monrovia, California
• Samick Music Corp. in Gallatin, Tennessee
• South Florida Gold in Miami, Florida
• Summit Specialty International in Alpharetta, Georgia
• Venture Lighting International, Inc. in Twinsburg, Ohio

*** 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

*** 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 11 different states and most are small businesses (Panasonic North America certainly is not). Their imports are as varied as their locations: Engineered Components Company imports cap screws from Thailand; Galaxy Sports imports gloves from Indonesia; Global Chemcorp imports pigments and dyes from India, and Sugarpod Naturals imports dietary supplements from the Philippines.

Two companies – B&C Technologies and Fab-Line Machinery – are among those featured on our Company Profiles page.

The next potential GSP expiration is less than 9 months away. If you import under GSP, be sure to join our free GSP Supporter List so we can continue making the case for GSP renewal well in advance of the pending expiration date.

GSP Supporter List companies added the week of April 10, 2017:

• Andre Prost, Inc. in Old Saybrook, Connecticut
• B&C Technologies LLC in Panama City Beach, Florida
• Bolcof Port Polyers / Calsak Plastics in Azusa, California
• Engineered Components Company in Elgin, Illinois
• Fab-Line Machinery, LLC in Nashville, Tennessee
• Galaxy SPorts, Inc. in South Bend, Indiana
• Global Chemcorp, LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina
• Karran in Vincennes, Indiana
• Organik Kimya US, Inc. in Burlington, Massachusetts
• Panasonic Corporation of North American in Newark, New Jersey
• Sugarpod Naturals in Hillsboro, Oregon
• TRI-K Industries Inc. in Denville, New Jersey
• YGI Group in New York, New York
• Zhong Ya Chemical (USA) Ltd. in Edison, New Jersey

In the clip below, Senator Wyden discusses how GSP is an “economic win-win” for developing countries and U.S. manufacturers, including GSP Supporter List company Stackhouse Athletic in Salem, Oregon.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xfXQVAIjBQ]

For more recent info, below is our just-released 2015 GSP savings graphic for Oregon (all other state graphics here) and you can download our new 2015 Oregon state GSP report (all other state reports here).

Providing specific examples of constituents benefiting from GSP is one of the best ways to educate Members of Congress about the importance of the GSP program. This is particularly true with GSP’s current authorization set to expire at the end of 2017. If you are a GSP importer – in Oregon or anywhere else – please add your name to our free GSP supporter list so we can build support for uninterrupted GSP renewal early next year.

Select artisans in India working with GSP importer WorldFinds

While we generally focus on the benefits to U.S. companies of the GSP program, it is important to remember that sourcing from GSP countries has a positive impact on the lives of workers and their families in developing countries. Sometimes, the benefits to poor workers come simply from having a job that otherwise would not exist without the additional U.S. demand created by GSP. Often times, though, U.S. companies importing under GSP choose to go above and beyond in terms of promoting development.

For example, Preferred Brands International in Stamford, Connecticut imports ready-to-eat food products from India. The company cares about more than just increasing sales of its Tasty Bite brand foods: it uses its 23-acre farm in India as a demonstration location to teach best practices in organic and sustainable farming and has a number of community initiatives such as a scholarship fund for factory workers’ children.

Similarly, Nina Designs in Emeryville, California imports fair trade jewelry from multiple GSP countries. This small business has funded $115,000 in microloans to more more than 150 women artisans in 20 developing countries, most of which are GSP beneficiaries. One of the company’s microloan partners is Novica (also on the GSP Supporter List), which has sent more than $68 million to artisans around the world. Nina Designs’ commitment to employees is simply inspirational.

The examples of the companies above run counter to what nearly all trade critics think about imports from lower-wage countries. While GSP and programs like it help make such development possible, they are not guaranteed. For example, WorldFinds in Westmont, Illinois paid $6,000 in extra taxes in the first month after GSP expired in 2013. In the words of founder Kelly Weinberger:

“These tariffs are paralyzing us as a small fair trade business with limited resources and an already tight clash flow. Suddenly a huge amount of money needs to be reallocated to pay tariffs instead of being able to order more product from our low-income artisan groups.”

So while GSP benefits help economic development both at home and abroad (such as WorldFinds artisans pictured above), GSP expiration can quickly reverse those gains. That is just one more reason that Congress must pass legislation to renew GSP early next year to prevent another expiration when its authorization expires on December 31, 2017.

This post is part of the 5th Annual “Imports Work for America Week.“ For more information visit the Imports Work website.

So it is ironic that the ease with which people benefit from imports – across every aspect of their lives – allows them take those benefits for granted. This is particularly true for goods brought in under special programs like GSP that most Americans simply do not know exist. For example, GSP eliminated more than $250 million in import taxes on food and consumer goods in 2015 – yet we know of only one person who has actually sought to identify GSP-eligible products in their home (this author). Here are some of the things we have found over the years.

GSP eliminates the 8 percent import tax on ceramic dinnerware sets from Indonesia. In 2015, GSP waived more than $3.5 million in import taxes on such products.


GSP eliminates the 2 percent tariff on stainless steel dog bowls from India. In 2015, GSP waived about $2.5 million in import taxes on these dog bowls (and related household items), such as the one used by Dan’s dog, Duchess.

GSP eliminates the 3.9 percent tariff on wooden picture frames from Thailand. In 2015, GSP waived about $750,000 in import taxes on wooden frames from Thailand and another $1.2 million more on imports from other GSP countries.

GSP eliminates tariffs of up to 6.4 percent on the food items pictured below. Not only are the products potentially eligible for GSP, all of those brands are on the GSP Supporter List. In 2015, GSP waived about $90 million in tariffs across all food types.

Of course, GSP could do more. There has been an influx of baby clothes over the last two years, many of which come from GSP countries, such as those pictured below. However, most apparel is excluded from GSP, meaning that the United States collected nearly $80 million in taxes on baby clothes from GSP countries alone.

Left: Indonesian cotton shirt (19.7 percent import tax); Center: Indian Gerber Onesie, Indonesian plaid bodysuit (8.1 percent import tax each); Right: Cambodian crab tee shirt (14.9 percent import tax)

For all of the products above, the difference between lower and higher prices for American families is congressional action on GSP. (While not currently in the program, there is nothing the prevents Congress from changing the statute to allow benefits for apparel imports, or even a subsection such as baby clothes.) Similar examples could be found in just about every home in America – if the right person is looking.

Lack of awareness of programs such as GSP does and should not preclude families from the benefits of imports. But it does make it incumbent upon those companies and associations that understand the importance of imports to promote them – and that is why the Coalition for GSP is proud to support “Imports Work for America” week.

This post is part of the 5th Annual “Imports Work for America Week.“ For more information visit the Imports Work website.

Here is what they wrote (everything in italics is directly quoted):

We are a poster child for the benefits of the GSP program.  Located in New Jersey, just outside of NY City, our company is small but the jobs we have created with the help of the GSP program over the years are well-paying jobs with good benefits such as full health insurance coverage (we pay 100% of the employee’s premium) and 401(k) with matching funds.

We have about 12 employees and we pay commissions to another 12 salespeople (outside contractors) many of whom rely on our company as a primary source of income.  The benefits also extend to the very poor area in Indonesia (Surabaya) where the factory is located, as much needed jobs are provided by the factory which makes our products.

That’s good info, but it gets better. GSP is not even back into effect yet – that won’t happen until July 29 – but Primetac is moving full speed ahead. Here is what the email said in regards to recent/next steps:

1.      We are hiring a VP for sales and marketing to help us to expand our business nationwide.  We have warehouses in 4 states in different parts of the country, so any growth in our sales volume also accrues to those businesses via ripple effect.  Part of the new VP job will be to locate and hire at least 2 additional sales reps in open territories – so 2-3 new positions are being created

2.      We have just contracted for the purchase of a new Forklift from Crown Lift Trucks, an Ohio-based manufacturer of forklift trucks (this truck is manufactured entirely in the US).  Appx cost $26,000.

3.      We are investigating upgrades to the lighting system in our warehouse now that we will have the funds available for such improvements

To recap, GSP renewal is allowing the company to 1) hire new US workers internally, 2) support manufacturing jobs in Ohio through an immediate equipment purchase, and 3) potentially support more manufacturing/New Jersey installation jobs through warehouse upgrades.

My absolute favorite part is the last sentence (emphasis added), which reflects the optimism felt by many, many companies who have been waiting for Congress to renew GSP:

These are new projects just in the 2 weeks since the announcement of renewal…more to follow.

If your company is taking similar steps (e.g., hiring workers, making job-creating investments, etc.) as a result of GSP renewal, we want to hear from you. The next potential GSP expiration will roll around before you know it, and the more we can show the positive GSP impacts between now and then, the better positioned we’ll be to advocate for a seamless renewal.