Any discussion of improving competitiveness through trade – especially as it relates to diversifying supply chains away from China – must include GSP renewal. China is excluded from GSP, and many GSP countries are natural alternative suppliers to China. By eliminating tariffs on China’s competitors, GSP makes them more viable alternatives to low-cost Chinese producers.

There are no two ways about it: loss of GSP makes Chinese producers more competitive. This is especially true for products where Section 301 tariffs on China may lead U.S. companies to seek alternative suppliers given the near-perfect overlap of products included on the Section 301 lists and GSP-eligible lists. And it’s not just about expiration, the dynamic applies to all types of GSP losses.

For example, while Section 301 tariffs covered just 54% of U.S. imports from China from January-September 2021, during the same time period the products on Section 301 lists accounted for:

• 96% of the estimated $763 million in extra tariffs from GSP expiration
• 97% of the estimated $318 million in extra tariffs from individual GSP product exclusions (e.g., competitive need limitations or “CNLs”)
• 90% of the estimated $312 million in extra tariffs due to lost GSP for India

Imposing an extra $150 million per month in tariffs on China’s competitors is a funny strategy for helping American companies move supply chains out of China. Backpacks are a good example of how that strategy has failed. After GSP benefits were extended to backpacks in 2016, GSP imports steadily gained market share. The Section 301 tariffs supercharged the trend – with gains now directly at the expense of China – but GSP expiration at the end of 2020 stopped both GSP imports’ rise and Chinese imports’ fall.

“GSP” and “China” issues don’t exist in a vacuum and therefore shouldn’t be treated as such. Here’s what should be done:

1. Congress should renew GSP as soon as possible. GSP expiration cost American companies at least $763 million in extra tariffs through September, and they’re likely to top $1 billion in 2021 if not renewed this year.
   
2. As part of renewal, Congress should amend GSP rules (e.g., CNLs) to keep as much trade under the program as possible. The more tariff benefits to GSP countries, the greater the incentives to leave China (and comply with eligibility criteria, as discussed here).
   
3. The Administration should make restoring GSP for countries such as India a priority. In November, 75 House Members sent a letter supporting just that, and a U.S.-India joint statement said the U.S. would consider restored GSP. Talks should move as quickly as possible.

GSP benefits have become even more important in recent years since Altus Brands completely stopped buying this product from China due to 25% Section 301 tariffs. In 2020, GSP saved Altus Brands over $25,000 in eliminated tariffs. The company’s imports also further GSP’s development goals: it purchases from a factory that offers benefits and higher pay than other local factories. It’s good for workers in the Philippines and the United States, since the high-quality products command a higher price and help support other Made in the USA product lines.

But GSP expiration threatens all of this. Altus raised prices to cover the $14,000 (and growing) in extra tariffs paid. It has lost sales at home and in export markets (e.g., Canada, Germany, and Russia), which in turn led to reduced purchases from the Philippines.

According to company president Gerand Lemanski, it could get worse yet: “Without renewal of GSP my product is not competitive in the US market and I will have to cease selling this product within a year. That will result in letting one production person go.”

Unfortunately, Congress recently recessed until mid-September. Altus Brands’ experience shows why it must make GSP renewal an immediate priority when it returns.

Note: this example came from a new Coalition survey on expiration impacts. It was published with permission. GSP importers are encouraged to take the survey here – no company-specific details will be published without such permission.

Due to GSP expiration, Ciranda has paid over $209,000 in extra tariffs on imports of tapioca powders and syrups, coconut products, rice syrup and powders from Brazil, Pakistan, Philippines, and Thailand. The need to pass these costs onto customers led sales to fall. Even if tariffs paid (eventually) are refunded, those lost sales can’t be regained. As an employee-owned company, everyone at Ciranda is impacted by those lost sales and profits.

Ciranda is a great example of the kind of trade GSP is meant to promote. Its qualification process includes an in-person visit to every supplier. While on-site, it observes each ingredient’s journey from the field to the processing plant. In addition to evaluating product quality, it surveys working conditions, fair labor practices, and the overall environmental health of the project. In 2020, Ciranda published a book highlighting the farmers around the world growing their product.

By eliminating U.S. tariffs on sustainable food ingredients, GSP helps companies like Ciranda do “more good” for workers and the environment in developing countries and the United States. Their example also highlights the risk of imposing too many eligible criteria on GSP countries for which higher tariffs are the only possible punishment. No matter how well-intentioned a new GSP criterion (e.g., on environment) may be, terminating GSP often hurts those meeting or exceeding even the highest standards. That’s why the Coalition believes Congress should consider changes to mitigate any punitive actions as part of GSP renewal, such as supporting partial (instead of full) terminations and/or creating a mechanism for good actors to retain benefits.

Note: Ciranda’s story came from a new Coalition survey on expiration impacts. GSP importers can take the survey here.

In the first five months of expiration, American companies paid at least $397 million in extra taxes as a result of GSP expiration. Companies in 32 states paid at least $1 million in tariffs from January-May 2021 due to GSP expiration. The map below shows estimated tariffs for products claiming GSP paid by state in that period.

May was the most expensive month of GSP expiration yet both nationally and for 19 states: Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia. In three states – Colorado, Kansas, and New Mexico – tariffs paid in May were at least double any of the previous four months.

While many believe the United States has low tariffs, Colorado companies have paid extra tariffs averaging 11.7% due to GSP expiration. Companies in Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Utah, and Wisconsin have all paid extra tariffs average 7-10%.

The data on tariffs paid is a conservative estimate, and the real figure likely is higher. Why? Estimates only capture products that continued to claim GSP despite expiration. Yet imports of many products that traditionally get GSP have not claimed it in 2021. 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.

It is critical that Congress renew GSP – with refunds for tariffs paid – as soon as possible. Companies that want to help the Coalition for GSP educate policymakers on who is hurt by expiration (and how) should:

• 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

Worker impacts from a small business that has paid $100,000 in tariffs: “GSP impact has been severe this year. Had to lay off 1 person and did not hire for a new sales position.”

Covid/worker impacts from a small business that has paid $350,000 in tariffs: “Covid19 shutdown reduced our cashflow, with GSP [expired] we don’t have the extra funds to order inventory we need. We were looking to hire at least 3 new employees. Now on hold due to GSP.”

China/worker impacts from a small business that has paid $40,000 in tariffs: “We rely heavily on Thailand produced goods in our market to compete with China imports from our competition. We are higher priced even without 10% tariffs. Now we have a real threat to our market share with cost increase on goods of 10%…Possible funds normally used for employee raised wages will be paid in new tariffs. This weakens our work force stability, thus threatening our output capacity.”

U.S. manufacturing impact from a business that has paid $15,000 in tariffs (but estimates $350,000 in tariffs if GSP remains expired all year): “We are selling our aluminum products to a leading US HVAC manufacture and those products are excluded from 232 tariff but we still have to pay the standard duty without GSP.”

In summary, GSP expiration reduces American jobs, makes pay/benefits at existing jobs worse, makes China more competitive, and raises costs for American manufacturers (even for products not available in the United States). Expiration impacts snowball over time, so Congress should renew GSP – and refund tariffs paid – as soon as possible.

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

One California small business with about 20 employees canceled plans to hire two new workers in January. Longer-term investments that could add 10-15 production jobs and 3-4 more engineers also are on hold. Here, the company’s president describes how he would immediately hire new workers if GSP is renewed, but expansions depend on how it is renewed.

A critical point: the uncertainty created by Congress prevents the types of investments and American job creation that Congress (says it) supports. While expiration means no jobs, and a 1-2 year renewal would mean 2 jobs, a 5+ year renewal could lead to 15-20 skilled manufacturing and engineering jobs. Yet for the last 3 months Congress has chosen the “no jobs” option.

Another important point: all of the company’s GSP imports are used to manufacture other products in the United States. Due to GSP expiration, the company has raised its’ prices 10-15% depending, meaning other American manufacturers are now less competitive in selling in the United States and global markets.

With each passing day adding millions of dollars in new costs, it is past time for Congress to help American companies and workers by renewing GSP.

GSP benefits companies in every state – the map below shows the overall value of January-September 2020 GSP imports (in blue) and tax savings (in red) by state.

Yet GSP is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2020. Companies and workers around the country need Congress to pass legislation reauthorizing GSP to avoid millions of dollars in new taxes per day in 2021. Because we know what happens when GSP expires: American companies lost sales, laid off workers, and canceled R&D and other job-creating expansions.

Companies that import under GSP and want Congress to renew it before December 31 can take any/all of the following steps to help advocate for renewal:

• use our Contact Congress tool to email Senators/Representatives about the importance of GSP renewal
• add your name to our free GSP supporter list
• answer our Covid-19 and/or GSP country suspensions impact surveys
• submit a video on why Congress must renew GSP
• follow the Coalition for GSP on Twitter and amplify our GSP renewal efforts

In his opening statement, Ranking Member Vern Buchanan (R-FL) cited Coalition for GSP data, saying “Americans saved more than a billion dollars of their hard-earned money, including almost forty million dollars in my home state of Florida, thanks to GSP.”

Buchanan also argued that the expiration dates for CBTPA (9/30) and GSP (12/31) are “effectively the same” due to “our recess at the end of this month for the election and the uncertainties of the lame duck session.” He added that “Renewing GSP now would reduce uncertainty and support jobs at American companies that rely on the program, many of which are small businesses.”

You can read Buchanan’s full opening statement here or watch the clip on GSP here:

Representative George Holding (R-NC) echoed Buchanan’s comments about the need to renew GSP quickly, noting the $24 million that GSP saved for North Carolina companies in 2019.

Also yesterday, Buchanan and House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX) sent a letter outlining support for renewing GSP and CBTPA together. The letter stated (emphasis added): “A lapse of either program would be costly for U.S. manufacturers and would diminish American leadership in international development. In order to minimize uncertainty for U.S. companies and their partners in developing countries at this particularly vulnerable time, both programs should be renewed together.“

Like GSP, CBTPA enjoys broad, bipartisan support.

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.