Some Presidents Day History from the Coalition for GSP…
…and Wikipedia. Apparently, Congress first created a holiday for government offices in Washington, DC in honor of George Washington in 1880. Five years later, the holiday was expanded to cover all federal workers, and for the next 85 years government workers took off February 22, Washington’s birthday. In 1971, Congre...
Continue readingUpdated GSP Coalition Annual Report Now Available
The Coalition for GSP recently updated its annual report to include 2010 trade data and other developments. The report provides a comprehensive overview of GSP program administration, country and product eligibility, and trade statistics. You can download a copy of the report here.
Continue readingKeeping Up with Renew GSP Today
A couple weeks back, we added the “Subscribe” option so people could get our posts automatically emailed to them. The subscribe feature is located in the right side below the categories/links menus. You can also follow us on Twitter @renewgsptoday.
Continue readingTires That Just Can’t Catch a Break
Ok, so that’s a bad play on words, but radial tires are one of the most valuable GSP imports. In 2010, GSP imports of tires for passenger cars, trucks, and buses exceeded $725 million, saving American importers $29 million. Thailand and Indonesia are the two leading GSP suppliers of radial tires under GSP, combining for...
Continue readingDigging Deeper into the 2010 GSP Import Data
The other day, we posted some quick hits on the year-end GSP import data for 2010 showing that total GSP imports were up 11% to $22 billion and that GSP saved American companies nearly $690 million. Over the last couple days, we’ve looked at imports of different types of products – and the value of...
Continue readingMore GSP Coverage from Time
Time’s Swampland blog has a post today (Sleeping Bag Sessions) that calls GSP “wildly successful” and notes that “GSP is so popular it passed the House by voice vote.” It also highlights the 80,000 American jobs supported by GSP imports. That makes Time the 4th major publication to do a feature on GSP expiration,...
Continue readingContacting Your Congressional Delegation about GSP Renewal
One of the most important things that companies who have been hurt by GSP expiration can do is contact the members of their Congressional delegation. While many Representatives and Senators know about the GSP program, they don’t necessarily know which of their constituents benefit from it. That’s where letters and phone call...
Continue readingGSP Expiration Makes Valentine’s Day a Little Less Sweet
According to the National Confectioners Association, Valentine’s Day is the fourth biggest holiday of the year for confectionery purchases (after Halloween, Easter and Christmas). From heart-shaped boxes of chocolates to conversation candies, when people think of Valentine’s day, our minds jump straight to the sweets! Excluding my...
Continue readingGSP Editorial in Washington Post
The Washington Post had an editorial today on the expiration of the GSP and Andean preferences called Mr. Sessions and the need to trade. It highlights the fact the Senator Sessions held up GSP renewal despite a ruling by the non-partisan US International Trade Commission (ITC) that workers in Alabama were not threatened by GSP...
Continue readingAnd the Magic Number is…689
That’s how many millions of dollars GSP saved importers in 2010. Actually, our estimates say $688,834,642, but the rounded figure is close enough. Thailand edged out India as the country responsible for the most GSP savings: $148.43 million for Thailand compared to $148.39 million for India. In 3rd place was Indonesia, whose...
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