Obama restores Myanmar to U.S. duty-free import program

President Obama signed a proclamation to reinstate Myanmar’s eligibility to the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences program that allows certain goods from developing countries to enter the U.S. duty free.    President Obama on Wednesday signed a proclamation to reinstate Myanmar’s eligibility to participate in the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, which allows certain goods from developing countries to enter the United States duty free.
   The reinstatement of Myanmar (Burma) to the program will take effect Nov. 13.
   “We see Burma’s democratically-elected government giving new hope to its people, making commitments to continue implementing reforms that strengthen workers’ voices, and working to combat forced and child labor,” said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman in a statement. “We have partnered with Burma to support many of these reforms in the past and will continue to do so with GSP in place.”
   The U.S. suspended the country’s GSP benefits in 1989 due to worker rights concerns. After Myanmar requested reinstatement in 2013, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) led an extensive review of the country’s compliance with all of the GSP eligibility criteria, and in particular, of its recent record of labor reforms and strengthened worker protections.
   Since the democratic government took office in March 2016, senior government officials, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, and joined by the country’s business and labor leaders, have worked with the U.S. on labor issues, USTR said.
   Access to GSP will give Myanmar the opportunity to export about 5,000 products to the U.S. duty-free.
   The GSP program was created by the Trade Act of 1974 to promote economic development of developing nations. Under the program, 122 developing countries export about 3,500 different products duty-free to the U.S. The least developed countries, such as Myanmar, are eligible to export another 1,500 products duty-free.
   According to the USTR, exports that entered the U.S. duty-free in 2015 under the GSP program from all countries totaled about $17.7 billion.
   Myanmar’s exports to the U.S. have grown from $38,000 in 2012 to $142 million in 2015. These exports include GSP-eligible goods such as dried peas, rattan and wood products, and travel goods.
   The USTR noted that Myanmar regained similar preferential trade benefits under the European Union’s GSP program in July 2013. Canada, Japan, South Korea and Australia have also recently included the country in their GSP programs.