Industry asks Congress to keep eye on unfinished trade business

Industry asks Congress to keep eye on unfinished trade business About 180 industry groups and companies urged the U.S. congressional leadership in a Dec. 1 letter to follow through on several outstanding trade bills and programs before the end of the legislative session.
   The letter specifically cited the need to renew the Generalized System of Preferences, a program that allows certain products from developing countries to enter the United States duty free. GSP is set to expire Dec. 31.
   The letter also called for the renewal of the Andean Trade Preferences Act, which also expires at the end of the year.
   In addition, the letter asked Congress to continue access to the 'third country fabric' provision under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), extend certain trade preferences to Haiti, enact the miscellaneous trade bill, and grant Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) to Vietnam.
   'Given the benefit of these critical trade programs to U.S. workers, firms, farmers and trade partners in the developing world, the House and Senate must act on these measures in the remaining days of the 109th congressional session to avoid increasing manufacturing and consumer costs and significant trade disruption,' the letter said.
   Some of the groups and companies to sign the letter are the American Apparel & Footwear Association, BASF, Caterpillar, Coalition for GSP, DaimlerChrysler, DuPont, Hewlett-Packard, Information Technology Association of America, International Bottled Water Association, Mack Trucks, National Electrical Manufacturers Association, Panasonic, Boeing, Time Warner, and United States Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel.