Dear GSP importer, the bank regrets to inform you…
“After careful consideration Sun National Bank has decided not to renew the above referenced $600,000 line of credit.” That one sentence, from a bank letter (right) forwarded by a GSP importer, immediately raises concerns about the future viability of the business. The reason for the bank’s decision? The company could not pay the ...
Continue readingGSP Expiration Cost Another $54 Million in January 2015
Based on data released last week, continued GSP expiration cost American importers another $54 million in January 2015. For both Arizona and West Virginia, it was the most costly month to date in terms of tariffs paid to date. The cost of tariffs paid because of expiration exceeded $1 billion in January. At $150 million...
Continue readingSnowball Effects of GSP Expiration
It’s a snowy day in Washington. The Federal Government is closed. The House and Senate both agreed to wrap up work early and flee DC before the snow hit (the House won’t return until March 16). So it seems appropriate to highlight the snowball effects of continued GSP expiration. The following comes from an email...
Continue readingNew 2014 State-by-State GSP Reports Released
Today, the Coalition for GSP released updated reports for on why GSP matters for all 50 states. For each state, the reports highlight: total GSP imports and tariffs paid on account of GSP expiration in 2014; companies importing GSP-eligible products; top GSP imports by product type, and top source countries by both value of imports...
Continue readingLetter from 628 Organizations to Congressional Trade Leaders: Renew GSP Immediately
Today, the Coalition for GSP joined with 627 other American companies and associations to send a letter urging the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees to pass, without further delay, legislation that would retroactively renew the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. The letter comes as ...
Continue readingCoalition for GSP’s House, Senate Trade Policy Hearing Submissions
We want to thank all the companies that gave statements for our hearing submissions to the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees. Both included comments from about 3 dozen companies on the pain caused by continued GSP expiration. You can download the House submission here and the Senate submission here. In addition to...
Continue readingHouse, Senate Hearings on Trade, Part 2
Over the last few weeks, the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees held hearings on trade. The Coalition asked companies to send a few sentences that we could include in our submissions for the record. Several dozen responded, and you can read our final submission on “jobs and a healthy economy” here. We need...
Continue readingIn The Hill: “Failure to Renew GSP is America’s Hidden Fiasco”
In The Hill today, Rick Helfenbein wrote an amazing article about the the “hidden fiasco” that is Congress’ continued inaction on GSP. As he writes about expiration: small operators were suddenly forced to pay an unexpected tax in the form of previously waived duties. Real profits were yanked right out of their bottom line, and...
Continue readingHouse, Senate Hearings on Trade
Today, both the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees are both holding hearings on trade. We’ll be tweeting out facts and figures about GSP expiration on Committee members all day and would greatly appreciate if you would retweet – particularly if they apply to your state/district. The Coalition also will be submitting offi...
Continue readingAn Unfortunate Milestone for American Companies: $1 Billion in Taxes Paid Because of Congress’ Failure to Renew GSP
Today marks an unfortunate milestone for American companies: $1 billion in taxes paid because of Congress’ failure to renew GSP. Obviously, these costs were not incurred overnight. It’s the cumulative effect of 540 days without GSP – with an average daily cost of $1.85 million in new taxes. Nearly 18 months of expiration, far surp...
Continue reading