First GSP Expiration Poll Response
I’d like to send my sincerest thanks to our first poll respondent who not only answered every question, but is allowing me to post the “additional comments.” The following is the entire response from a “very small” company of less than 10 employees: We held our prices until 3/31/2011. We paid approximately $35,00...
Continue readingPOLL: What is the Cost of GSP Expiration for YOUR Company?
Through February (the latest data available), GSP expiration cost American companies $100 million. We’re nearly in May, meaning that the real cost of expiration to date is likely double that amount. Yet what people really want to know is how that affects companies, in particular small businesses. Since no one currently has an answ...
Continue readingFailure to Act on GSP: “Making it Even More Difficult to Recover”
Most of the companies that add their name to the GSP Supporter List don’t provide much additional commentary. That’s too bad. Small business owners and employees, which seem to be the majority of the people contacting us, must deal with the consequences of GSP expiration in a way that Congress either does not – or...
Continue readingGSP Expiration Adds to US Manufacturing Woes
Given the name/purpose of this site, we focus primarily on the direct impacts of GSP renewal. What we probably don’t focus on enough is how GSP duties pile on to a host of other challenges American companies currently face. Yesterday, we noted that Besa Lighting in Blacklick, Ohio (near Columbus) added its name to the...
Continue readingGSP Supporter List by CD
We updated the GSP Supporter List by CD to reflect the companies added over the last week. (Note: updated again on 5/3.) Currently, the list shows only headquarters locations, so the geographical “footprint” of the companies is actually much greater. We’re going to post an expanded list with as many non-HQ locations as possi...
Continue readingCongress “at Home” This Week – Make Sure to Talk to Them
Congress is out of DC for one more week for the Easter/Passover recess, meaning most Reps will be holding events in the home districts/states before returning next week. This is a great chance to meet your reps in person and tell them about the difficulties you’re experiencing because of GSP expiration. There’s no comprehensive si...
Continue readingHappy Easter from Renew GSP Today
This Sunday, millions of children will wake up with a basket full of candy, eggs, and other goodies. According to the National Confectioners Association, Easter is the second biggest holiday of the year for confectionery purchases (after only Halloween). In fact, 90 million chocolate bunnies and 16 billion jelly beans are made each yea...
Continue readingCORRECTED: Steel Producers Pay Millions in New Tariffs in 2011
Contrary to popular belief, most products imported under GSP are not finished consumer goods – they are raw materials, components, and other industrial goods used by American manufacturers for domestic production. Ferroalloys, which are used to produce steel, have seen the biggest increase in “imports under GSP” in the beginning o...
Continue readingNeed Products Not Made in the US? Too Bad…Pay the Tariffs
We recently received this email from a small company in Georgia that designs, manufactures, and tests custom optical systems. Its customers range from amateur astronomers right on up to NASA and other government agencies. Here’s what the owner said about GSP expiration: We import zero expansion glass from Russia for use in telesco...
Continue readingThe Tip of the Iceberg
As of this morning, the GSP Supporter List reached 174 organizations. Since launching at the end of March, we’ve added an average of about 3 new names per day (including weekends). Beyond the statistics, it’s just as interesting to take look at how those companies and associations ended up on the list. The Coalition for...
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