Lawmakers seek to add shoes to GSP

Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Pat Roberts, R-Kans., introduced legislation this week that would add certain footwear from eligible developing countries to the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), allowing them to enter the country duty-free.    Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Pat Roberts, R-Kans., introduced legislation this week that would allow certain footwear from eligible developing countries to enter the United States duty-free.
   If the legislation passes, the shoes will become part of the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). So far, shoes have been excluded from the more than 40-year-old trade program.
   “Duty reduction means U.S. footwear companies can reduce costs that can instead be invested in American workers, product innovation, and savings that can be passed on to consumers,” said Rick Helfenbein, president and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, which supports the Senate bill (S. 2032).
  “We urge the Senate to quickly pass this important bill. Just as important, we urge Congress to renew the overall GSP program before it expires at the end of this year,” added Steve Lamar, the association’s executive vice president.
   A House version of the Senate GSP-footwear bill (H.R. 2735) was introduced earlier this year by Reps. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., and Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and has gained support.
   About 120 developing countries and territories eligible for GSP can enter their products into the United States duty-free. The total value of GSP-eligible imports that entered the United States in 2016 was $18.7 billion, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
   To qualify for GSP, a beneficiary country must meet eligibility criteria established by Congress, including respecting arbitral awards, combating child labor, respecting internationally recognized worker rights, providing adequate and effective intellectual property protection, and providing the United States with equitable and reasonable market access. 
   U.S. importers are now urging Congress to approve legislation to reauthorize GSP before the program’s expiration at the end of the year. Whenever GSP is allowed to lapse, companies must scramble to find tens of millions of dollars in their budgets to pay these import taxes until the trade preferences program is re-approved by Congress.