USTR CONSIDERS DROPPING BELARUS FROM GSP

USTR CONSIDERS DROPPING BELARUS FROM GSP    The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative may drop Belarus from the Generalized System of Preferences.
   GSP grants duty-free treatment to certain goods that are imported from approved developing countries. The program is authorized under the Trade Act of 1974.
   The USTR’s Trade Policy Staff Committee cited Belarus for violating internationally recognized worker’s rights. The USTR has been investigating the country since it received a petition from the American Federation of Labor in 1997.
   Under GSP, the president maintains the authority to withdraw, suspend or limit a country’s privileges for violating GSP rules.
   The USTR is also investigating other GSP beneficiaries for violating intellectual property rights. They are Armenia, Dominican Republic, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
   The USTR’s GSP Subcommittee will be taking written comments from the industry until March 9. Public hearings are scheduled for April 3 and 4 in Washington.