From January-August 2021, American companies paid at least $666 million in extra taxes as a result of GSP expiration. Imports into 36 states (plus Puerto Rico) paid at least $1 million in tariffs from January-July 2021 due to GSP expiration. The map below shows estimated tariffs paid for products claiming GSP by state.

August was the most expensive month of GSP expiration yet both nationally and for 15 states: Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington. Tariffs paid on imports into Minnesota were 84% higher than any previous month. For Pennsylvania and Georgia, tariffs paid were 53% and 27% higher than any previous month, respectively.

GSP expiration costs have a direct, negative impact on American workers:

• “GSP can be the difference between making a profit or a loss and without profits we obviously can’t increase wages and benefits” says Charlie Smith of BROSCO, a 4th generation, family-owned millwork distributor in Massachusetts and Maine. “Continued losses put all of our 360 workers’ jobs and livelihoods at risk.”
  
• “We are having challenges staying competitive“ says Ajay Kochhar of A&S Distributors in Salida, California. The 7-worker company has paid over $60,000 in extra taxes on food products from Fiji because of GSP expiration. “We can’t hire and give employees full benefits as this is a major increase.”
  
• “The tariffs when added to the rapidly escalating costs of containers have been devastating” says Sandra Colyer of Lily Koo LLC in Jamestown, North Carolina. “Employees laid off due to Covid are slowly being brought back, but return to work would occur more quickly if money was not being spent on tariffs.”

It is critical that Congress renew GSP – with refunds for tariffs paid – as soon as possible. We strongly encourage GSP importers hurt by expiration to answer our new survey here. As always, no company-specific details will be published without permission.

In the first two months of expiration, American companies paid at least $135 million in extra taxes as a result of GSP expiration. The map below shows estimated tariffs for products claiming GSP paid by state.

The products facing the most new tariffs vary greatly by state:

• In New York, gold jewelry faced $2.4 million in new tariffs.
• In Florida, roses faced another $2.2 million in new tariffs due to GSP expiration (on top of $1.8 million in January) in the run-up to Valentine’s Day.
• In Texas, nearly $800,000 in tariffs were paid on plywood.
• In Pennsylvania, nearly $400,000 in tariffs were paid on colored pencils.
• In Ohio, $200,000 in tariffs were paid on wire harnesses used in auto manufacturing.

The data on tariffs paid is a conservative estimate, and the real figure likely is millions of dollars more. Why? Estimates only capture products that continued to claim GSP despite expiration. Yet imports of many products that traditionally get GSP did not claim it in February. Tariffs paid on those imports still would be eligible for refunds in the event of a retroactive renewal, but importers would need to file manual requests.

GSP expiration is already costing American jobs and raising prices for American companies that need inputs and consumers that purchase finished goods. It is critical that Congress renew GSP – with refunds for tariffs paid – as soon as possible. To help the Coalition for GSP educate policymakers on who is hurt by expiration (and how), companies are strongly encouraged to:

• write their lawmakers about GSP renewal with our Contact Congress tool
• join the Coalition for GSP
• add their name to the free GSP supporter list
• answer our very short survey on GSP expiration impacts to date

Burris Company, a manufacturer in Greeley, Colorado, has paid nearly $400,000 in tariffs due to GSP expiration. Vice President of Finance Mike Kinnison reports: “Burris Company manufactures as well as imports. The lower cost of imports helps to sustain our manufacturing and keep overall costs low. Additional tariffs puts US manufacturing at risk. Much more delay will result in canceling any large capital investments and lead to layoffs.”

Franklin Mfg Inc. in Jericho, New York has paid about $25,000 in tariffs due to GSP expiration. It raised prices to reflect tariffs, which led to lost sales and lower planned purchases going forward. As Franklin Mfg President and Owner Jesse Taube reports: “We are in a vulnerable position to lose our current customers due to not being as competitive.”

Fusion Gourmet, a food importer in Rancho Dominguez, California that has paid $25,000 in tariffs, similarly raised prices and lost sales. According to Fusion Gourmet President Steve Liaw, job impacts are felt by workers in both the United States and Indonesia, it’s primary GSP source country.

• In the United States: “Due to increased costs related to GSP, we are not able to increase our hiring for 2021. These additional costs directly impact our budget that we allocate towards seasonal hiring.”
• In Indonesia: “We will also reduce our orders from factories that are in countries impacted by GSP. This lost revenue will negatively impact these factories which are usually 70+% women workers.”

A Simpler Time, which is based in Morrisville, North Carolina and also operates a retail store in New Orleans, Louisiana, reports how GSP expiration directly hurt wages for its American workers. According to A Simpler Time President Jeff King: “Normally [we] pay quarterly bonuses to employees, but have delayed them as we can’t pass all the increased costs on to customers.” It also didn’t replace a worker that left and reduced another’s hours due to a combination of higher import costs, supply chain issues, and retail sales that remain well below pre-Covid levels.

If you’re a company impacted by GSP expiration, please answer our very short survey on GSP expiration impacts to date (the source for all of the above examples). To further help the Coalition for GSP educate policymakers on who is hurt by expiration (and how), companies are strongly encouraged to:

• write their lawmakers about GSP renewal with our Contact Congress tool
• join the Coalition for GSP
• add their name to the free GSP supporter list

However, GSP expired on January 1 and companies must now pay over $2.5 million per day in extra taxes. GSP expiration is causing immediate harm to American companies and workers. For example, a small business in New York recently reported:

Because GSP expired, we will have to let 3 employees go that were previously going to be brought from temporary to permanent with benefits. Two good paying electronics technician jobs we planned to add are now on hold as well. We are a smaller company and can’t afford $163,000 in expenses and still be able to expand. Prices will likely have to increase with risk of losing further business in a very tight market, with major competition from China.

Another company with about 200 employees across six states is paying over $80,000 per month in new tariffs, a figure that will rise to $130,000+ per month in March. It reported:

We can’t reduce orders until we design and create new products to replace the items we currently buy. We will have to pay the duties in the interim and have raised prices only where the market allows. Therefore, we will sustain a low margin and cut costs including pay to employees.

It is critical that Congress renew GSP – with refunds for tariffs paid – as soon as possible. To help the Coalition for GSP educate policymakers on who is hurt by expiration (and how), companies are strongly encouraged to:

• join the Coalition for GSP
• add their name to the free GSP supporter list
• answer our very short survey on GSP expiration impacts to date

For many years, TRI’s GSP savings funded multiple full-time salaries. Despite loss of GSP for products imported from India and Turkey, GSP “still saves our company the equivalent of more than a full-time employee’s annual salary.”

Watch TRI Executive Vice President and CFO Jeff Wright explain how “maintaining full employment, full wages, and employee benefits is our top priority as is supporting our US customers who are trying to do the same for their American workers” – and how GSP renewal would help them do it.

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

GSP eliminates tens of thousands of dollars in tariffs annually for dZi, “enough to pay for staff health care or a new employee.” dZi’s 10-person staff in western Massachusetts handle all aspects of design, marketing, warehousing, fulfillment, and customer service – “soup to nuts” as founder and CEO Mac McCoy says.

Watch Mac explain why he urges “all of Congress to move on this cornerstone of good American policy that helps both businesses in our country and struggling communities in developing countries.”

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

American businesses: “By lowering tariffs for American companies that import under GSP, it supports jobs and investments in the United States.”

(WASHINGTON) – Over 430 American businesses and associations from across the country that currently use the Generalized Systems of Preferences (GSP) program to help sustain and grow their businesses today wrote to Congressional leaders asking their help in delaying a recent decision to terminate the program for India and Turkey. In their letter, the American businesses pointed out that just last year, Congress voted nearly unanimously to renew the GSP program for all eligible countries and that their help is needed in ensuring that the recent termination decisions reflect Congressional intent in overwhelmingly agreeing to continue the program.

“As representatives of American companies that would pay higher tariffs as a result of these decisions – and similar ones that could come in the future – we urge you to request a delay beyond May. This would provide Congress time to work with the Administration and ensure the decisions match both the letter and the spirit of the GSP law.” the letter states. By lowering tariffs for American companies that import under GSP, it supports jobs and investments in the United States, particularly at U.S. small businesses. Congress showed the strong bipartisan support for GSP when it reauthorized the program for three years in 2018.”

The GSP programs was established in 1974 to both promote economic development and provide duty-free imports to help American small businesses compete. As the U.S Trade Representative’s office website states, GSP: “Supports tens of thousands of jobs in the United States.  GSP also boosts American competitiveness by reducing costs of imported inputs used by U.S. companies to manufacture goods in the United States.  GSP is especially important to U.S. small businesses, many of which rely on the programs’ duty savings to stay competitive.” India and Turkey currently provide roughly a third of total GSP imports.

The businesses that sent the letter to Congress represent the profile of the average American business that benefits from the program which tend to have 20 or fewer employees and depend greatly on duty-free imports to support those employees and their overall business. The Coalition for GSP, a group of American companies, small businesses and trade associations organized to educate policy makers and others about the important benefits to American companies, workers, and consumers of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program helped organize today’s letter.

The full text of the letter:

Dear Chairmen Grassley and Neal and Ranking Members Wyden and Brady:

We are writing to express our grave concerns with the Administration’s recent announcement of intent to terminate Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program for India and Turkey. The decisions could take effect as soon as May 4, 2019. As representatives of American companies that would pay higher tariffs as a result of these decisions – and similar ones that could come in the future – we urge you to request a delay beyond May. This would provide Congress time to work with the Administration and ensure the decisions match both the letter and the spirit of the GSP law.

GSP is a 45-year old program created to promote economic development. By lowering tariffs for American companies that import under GSP, it also supports jobs and investments in the United States. Congress showed strong bipartisan support for GSP when it reauthorized the program for three years in 2018. The House of Representatives voted 400-2 in favor of GSP renewal legislation, which was then enacted into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018. Congress has not just reauthorized the program in recent years but expanded it significantly in 2015 by removing the statutory prohibition on eligibility for travel goods.

Multi-year reauthorizations and expansions have had a positive impact on American companies and workers, which saved a record $1.03 billion in eliminated tariffs in 2018. Yet the Administration’s use of country practice reviews threatens to undermine Congress’ intent in reauthorizing GSP and the benefits to program users like us. About one-third of GSP savings for American importers result from the inclusion of India and Turkey in the program. Another third result from eligibility for other countries under review, such as Indonesia and Thailand.

The India decision was based on failure to resolve market access issues. The GSP statute does not require a perfect trading relationship, just assurances of reasonable and equitable treatment. There are reports that India offered significant proposals that would improve US market access for a range of products and industries. By terminating GSP, the Administration has chosen higher barriers for US imports and exports instead of more-open markets for two-way trade. This does not match the intent of the GSP program or its eligibility criteria.

The Turkey decision was based on sufficient economic development, including “rising Gross National Income (GNI) per capita.” Yet the facts do not support this decision. While Turkey has made significant strides to diversify its exports and reduce levels of poverty, according to the World Bank, Turkey’s GNI per capita declined each year from 2014 to 2017. Further declines are expected as Turkey entered recession in 2018 for the first time since the global financial crisis. This action is diametrically opposed to GSP’s original intent. Preference programs were created to promote development by giving countries a hand up, not imposing new barriers when they are down.

The decisions even are worrying to GSP program users that do not import from India or Turkey. Eight other countries are subject to pending country practice reviews, and those decisions could be announced at any time. USTR also will announce soon whether any new country practice reviews will be self-initiated for GSP beneficiaries in Europe and the Western Hemisphere soon. If the Administration chooses to terminate GSP benefits despite efforts from beneficiary countries to address U.S. concerns, and can graduate countries based on positive economic development when data suggest otherwise, what countries’ benefits are not at risk?

It is not an exaggeration to suggest that when GSP comes up for reauthorization in next year, it could be a shell of the program that so many Members of Congress supported just a year ago. The India and Turkey announcements raise serious questions about whether the Administration is enforcing congressional intent, or misusing its discretion to eliminate tariff benefits that Congress has expressly granted.

We urge you to ensure that GSP decisions follow both the letter and the spirit of the law. Jobs at our companies depend on it.

Sincerely,

VIEW ALL 438 LETTER SIGNERS HERE

Based in Plano, Texas, Custom Direct is a US supplier of luggage, bags and cases with 10 employees. The company works with manufacturers in Cambodia that generally qualify for duty-free treatment under GSP. The company hasn’t paid any extra import tariffs due to GSP expiration, but the costs are quite real. According to Custom Direct’s CEO [emphasis added]:

We lost our largest project of the year, the opportunity to supply 2.5 million eyeglass cases to a major US customer as part of a Q-1 project. We were the successful bidder and awaiting the purchase order when we became aware that Congress had failed to renew GSP.  

The duty on cases would have added 17.6% to our cost of goods which we could not simply “hope” to recoup some day if GSP were to be re-instated. We had no choice but to withdraw and the business went to a supplier in China instead. We are still in the running for Q-3, but without GSP allowing us to partner with a Cambodian manufacturer, the project will go to China again.

The loss of business made us delay plans to hire 6 people in Texas and adjust revenue forecasts downward. Our US warehouse subcontractor also delayed plans to hire additional American workers to handle marking and labeling, packing, and distribution of the eyeglass cases. We are a small business and the loss of such a large client is perilous to our bottom line.

Custom Direct is a textbook example of why even retroactive renewals that refund tariffs paid can’t “make companies whole.” There are no tariff refunds for sales that were never made – something we highlighted on Tuesday as well. The longer Congress allows GSP to remain expired, the greater the risk of major losses for companies like Custom Direct that must compete against suppliers in countries like China that are not impacted by GSP expiration.

Is GSP expiration similarly impacting your company? If so, let us know how by completing this form. As always, no company-specific information will be published without explicit permission.

We are a small, family-owned business that has been manufacturing, importing, and distributing poly bags since 1876 (142 years). Sandbags from India are a major part of our business – the majority of which end up being sold through our distributors to government municipalities for flood relief.

This year, we are worried that we have no choice but to raise our prices to factor in the increased duty, as the unrest in Washington seems to be at an all-time high, and our confidence in a retroactive renewal is not as strong as it has been in previous years.

While we continue to navigate this situation, we have put several expansion plans for 2018 on-hold, including hiring additional sales and operations staff for our Cranbury, NJ facility.

Higher costs and uncertainty about renewal make any big decisions difficult, particularly for small businesses like Halsted. Decision-making becomes harder every day as new shipments arrive and the amount of taxes paid grows, making it critical for Congress to pass GSP renewal legislation quickly.

Is GSP expiration similarly impacting your company? If so, let us know how by completing this form. As always, no company-specific information will be published without explicit permission.

While GSP was expired, Royal Chain paid more than $2 million in new tariffs. It lost millions of dollars more in sales because products were no longer competitive once tariffs were added to the cost. Royal Chain could not fill new positions, delayed equipment upgrades, and put expansion plans on hold.