GSP request deadline set for June

GSP request deadline set for June    The U.S. government has set a June 24 deadline for requests to extend duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences to additional products, according to a note Wednesday from the trade law firm Sandler Travis & Rosenberg.
   GSP offers companies an opportunity to lower costs for manufacturing inputs and other goods. Under GSP, the U.S. provides duty-free treatment to a wide range of products imported from more than 100 developing and lesser-developed countries.
   Each year the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative solicits petitions seeking to modify the list of products eligible for GSP treatment — either by expanding GSP coverage to goods not already eligible or by removing eligibility from goods currently receiving duty-free treatment, according to the law firm.
   The office of the USTR also provides an opportunity to request a review of whether a particular GSP beneficiary country is continuing to meet the eligibility criteria.