(World Trade Interactive)
As this year’s session of Congress draws to a close, lawmakers missed an opportunity to approve a miscellaneous trade bill that would have extended tariff breaks on hundreds of imported goods. There was still time, however, to approve legislation extending the Generalized System of Preferences and the Andean Trade Preference Act.
Trade Preferences
The House of Representatives approved Dec. 14 a one-year extension of the Generalized System of Preferences and the Andean Trade Preferences Act, which are both currently slated to expire Dec. 31. This bill does not include an extension of trade preferences to apparel imported from Cambodia, as some lawmakers had been pushing for. It also does not include new trade preferences for goods imported from designated reconstruction opportunity zones in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which President Obama supports.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., had put a hold on Senate consideration of this bill because he wants to terminate GSP eligibility for sleeping bags from Bangladesh. Sessions lifted his hold after U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk agreed to review a petition seeking this change as part of the annual GSP review. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, had also posed a potential obstacle by pushing for Senate action on her bill to create a new assistant U.S. trade representative position for small business issues (see related item, below). However, Snowe never placed a formal hold on the bill, and at press time it appeared her concerns had been resolved, although no further details were available.
MTB
A miscellaneous trade bill was introduced in the House Dec. 16, but the House adjourned for the year before passing it. This bill would have suspended or reduced for three years duties on over 600 imported goods, most of which are inputs or components for products manufactured in the U.S. Many of the bill’s provisions would have renewed existing duty suspensions or reductions, which are now expected to expire Dec. 31. There were reports that the MTB stalled due to concerns raised by Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., about lowering tariffs on imported goods amid declining domestic manufacturing employment.
Inside US Trade reports that Congress may act in early 2010 to approve the tariff suspensions and reductions that have already been reviewed by the International Trade Commission, which include new measures as well as the renewal of existing duty breaks. A second bill with additional provisions could then see action later in the year. The article cited unnamed sources as noting that when MTB provisions have expired in the past before being reinstated, there were no refunds of duties paid by affected importers.
Read the complete summary here.
