Shipper groups press for trade program extensions

Shipper groups press for trade program extensions    Although Congress allowed both the Andean Trade Preference Act and Trade Adjustment Assistance to expire Saturday, shipper groups said they aren't giving up on their efforts to get U.S. lawmakers to extend these trade programs.

Reinsch

   They also seek congressional action to restore funding to the Generalized System of Preferences, which lapsed on Dec. 31. GSP allows certain approved products from developing countries to enter the U.S. market duty-free.
   'We are in absolute agreement that all three pending free trade agreements are crucial to increasing U.S. economic growth and exports, and supporting American jobs, and we believe that all should be presented to Congress for approval as soon as possible this year,' said Bill Reinsch, National Foreign Trade Council president, in a statement.
   'Failing to extend preferences not only impacts industries and workers in Colombia and other Andean nations, but also the hundreds of thousands of American workers whose jobs depend on trade,' added Chuck Dittrich, NFTC vice president for global trade issues.

Dittrich

   Dittrich noted that GSP expiration is already having a negative economic impact by increasing the cost of inputs for U.S. manufacturers. 'At a time when we are trying to find ways to boost the U.S. economy, failing to act in our economic interest has very real costs — costs that we cannot afford,' he said.
   'RILA members rely on ATPA and GSP, which allow them to source a variety of products from the world's poorest countries at competitive prices,' said Sandy Kennedy, president of the Retail Industry Leaders Association.
   She said Colombia's cut flower industry, for example, supports hundreds of thousands of jobs in Colombia and in the U.S. transportation, distribution and retail industries.
   'Congress and the White House need to step up to the plate and renew the ATPA and GSP programs before any lasting damage is done,' Kennedy said.