• Thompson Traders in Greensboro, North Carolina: GSP expiration cost Thompson Traders $220,000 and forced it to lay off 8 people, dropping employment to 12 workers. With GSP renewed, Thompson Traders initiated a new product line and has doubled to 25 workers.
• Universal Arquati in Santa Clarita, California: After paying over $180,000 in extra import taxes during GSP expiration, renewal allowed Universal Arquati hire 12 new workers and buy equipment that will help increase sales even more.
• Sophia Foods in Brooklyn, New York: GSP expiration cost Sophia Foods $46,000 in extra taxes and forced the small business to lay off 2 workers. With GSP back in place, Sophia Foods hired 2 workers to fill the positions eliminated during expiration – and then added 2 more new positions.

Matr Boomie relies on GSP savings to keep its imports of handcrafted gifts and accessories profitable. When GSP expired in 2013, Matr Boomie’s margin shrank substantially.

GSP renewal led to increased sales, profitability, and U.S. jobs for Matr Boomie. A big increase in sales resulted in GSP savings in the first year of renewal that exceeded the total tariffs paid over the 2-year expiration. Matr Boomie used GSP refunds and savings to hire 2 new workers in 2015 and 4 more in 2016 – nearly doubling its U.S. employment. It also increased salaries significantly.

GSP expiration in 2013 had a snowball effect familiar to many small business users of the program: raising prices to cover the new tariffs led to lower sales. Lower sales resulted in less money available to purchase new inventory, which in turn led to even lower sales. Eventually, Aid Through Trade was forced to freeze hiring and delay necessary equipment updates.

All for what many might consider to be modest tariffs of $30,000 extra over two years. Yet seemingly modest amounts can make a huge difference for small businesses like Aid Through Trade.

With GSP back in place, Aid Through Trade was able to hire a new worker in Maryland and give thousands of dollars in bonuses to its staff. It also invested in new technologies as sales have returned to pre-2013 levels.

Like many GSP program users, Aid Through Trade is both importer and exporter. (About 45% of GSP Supporter List companies export.) Aid Through Trade exports products that enter duty-free under GSP to Europe.