CUSTOMS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE

GSP

TRADE ACT OF 20002
08/02

The Trade Act of 2002 extends GSP from September 2001 through 2006. While the bill has passed both houses, it has not yet been signed by Pres. Bush. The bill also includes approval of trade promotion authority and provides that environmental and labor issues are to be considered on par with other negotiating objectives. Reducing trade barriers, improvement of anti-corruption measures, foreign regulatory practice and transparency are all major goals of the legislation.

Also of importance, the Andean Trade Preference Act was renewed from December 4, 2001 through February 2006.

GSP Renewal
07/02

H.R. 3009 has been approved with amendments by the House of Representatives. The bill now includes renewal of GSP for non-AGOA goods from September 30, 2001 to the end of 2002. As the Senate passed a different version of the bill, a conference committee will have to iron out the differences before the legislation is submitted to President Bush for signature.

H.R. 3009 also includes the fix demanded by the domestic textile industry, i.e., to qualify for CBTPA benefits, all fabric dyeing and finishing must take place in the U.S. Fortunately, the bill also includes the beginnings of monthly statement processing for importers and allows offsetting in Customs audits.

Customs Proposes FDA 180 Day Conditional Release Period Customs has issued a Federal Register notice in which it has proposed to change its regulations so that goods subject to the FDA laws and regulations would be considered conditionally released for a period of 180 days. In other words, at any time during that 180 day period following Customs' release, the shipment could be recalled by the FDA. Failure by the importer to comply with redelivery would lead to liquidation damages being assessed by
Customs at an amount equal to three times the value of the merchandise (and more in limited cases).

GSP EXPIRES AGAIN
11/01

On September 30, 2001, nonAGOA GSP expired again. There are attempts to reenact it being considered in Congress. However, as with previous expirations, importers will be required to pay duty at the regular rates and wait for refunds if and when GSP is reinstated. There is no technical trade bill anticipated in this session of Congress, thereby making renewal that much more unlikely this year.

GSP REFUNDS PROCESSED
5/00

Customs recently announced refunds of many entries have been processed now that GSP was reinstated. Those completed are entries which were filed electronically and were liquidated or scheduled to liquidate at no change. Filers who flagged their entries as GSP at time of filing but have yet to receive their refunds should check with the port of entry to find out the status of those monies.

All other GSP entries (not scheduled to liquidate, change liquidations, reliquidations and manually filed entries) will be processed manually by Customs. Importers should make sure they receive their refunds and if not, refund requests must be filed with Customs no later than June 14, 2000.

GSP RENEWAL
3/00

Customs has issued an announcement stating that GSP refunds will start to be processed on January 7, 2000. Actual refund checks should be issued within eight (8) to ten (10) weeks thereafter. Importers have until June 13, 2000 to file refund requests whether or not GSP was claimed at time of entry.

GSP RENEWED FOR TWO YEARS
11/99

The Congressional budget reconciliation bill includes renewal of GSP retroactive from July 1, 1999 through September 30, 2001. The exact language is to be published shortly but apparently allows refunds even for those products where GSP eligibility changed after the program last expired. The signature of Pres. Clinton is expected shortly. Given the cyclical nature of the renewal process, Customs is expected to begin issuing the refunds shortly after enactment.

GSP RENEWED
12/99

On December 17th GSP renewal was signed into law. The renewal period is July 1, 1999 through September 30,  2001. Customs will soon publish the procedures by which refunds will be paid.

GSP EXPIRES
7/99

On June 30th,  GSP again expires. While active efforts are underway in both Houses of Congress,  neither will be able to move a bill to enactment in time. Importers can again expect to pay duty with refunds to follow when GSP is again retroactively enacted.

GSP RENEWAL
12/98

GSP was renewed effective October 21, 1998, for more details see our web site.

GSP RENEWED
10/98

GSP was extended from July 1, 1998 through June 30, 1999 and made retroactive to June 30, 1998 when it previously expired. Importers have 180 days after October 21st to make their written refund requests. Customs has completed its reprogramming so, as before, if the entry was filed using the "A" indicator, importers can expect Customs to automatically refund duties. If entries were filed without the "A" indicator, written refund requests must be filed. Entries should be tracked to make sure all refunds are timely issued by Customs.
GSP EXPIRATION
7/98

On June 30, 1998, the GSP Program again expired. Renewal is expected but there are currently no bills proposed for that purpose. As before, Customs is allowing entries to be filed electronically with the "A" indicator to facilitate later refunds.

GSP RENEWED AGAIN
8/97

GSP has again been renewed, this time from June 1, 1997 through June 30, 1998. Customs is to start processing duty refunds at the end of August. It will take about two months for Customs to issue all the refunds. If the entry was filed non-ABI or GSP was not claimed with the "A" designator at time of entry, importers will have to file written refund requests no later than January 31, 1998. Importer should monitor their refunds to make sure any needed claims are filed timely.

GSP EXPIRES
6/97

May 31, 1997 GSP again expired. Proponents are trying to get it renewed as part of the budget reconciliation process. It is too early to tell whether that effort will be successful or what changes to eligibility of countries or products may result.

GSP REFUNDS STATUS
10/96

Through a recent administrative message, Customs has made clear that the vast majority of GSP refunds are scheduled for liquidation/reliquidation during October 1996. Importers are reminded to carefully monitor their entries for duty refund payments as all applications for refunds must be filed with Customs no later than February 3, 1997.

GSP RENEWED
5/96

In a move surprising for its speed, in the last minute G.S.P. was added to the minimum wage bill (H.R. 3448) which was signed into law last week. The renewal period is August 1, 1995 through May 31, 1997. However, the new law does not take effect until October 1, 1996. As a result, importers are required to pay duty until then. As to refunds of duties previously paid, Customs currently estimates it will take approximately two (2) months from October 1, 1996 for it to prepare and issue the necessary refund orders. What is not clear is how much additional time the Treasury Dept. will require to actually issue the checks.

Importers should bear in mind that even once reinstated, there will be changes in eligibility. Pakistan lost GSP eligibility for some products as of July 1, 1996. Malaysia loses eligibility for all products on January 1, 1997. The new law also changes country eligibility lowering the qualifying GNP from $11,800 to $8,600. Greenland, French Polynesia, Cyprus and the Cayman Islands are expected to be impacted by this GNP change.

GSP RENEWAL
2/96

Given the current climate in Washington, D.C., it is now clear there is little hope for GSP renewal until after the November Presidential elections. While efforts are still being made to find a means to renew GSP earlier, the budget, welfare and Medicare battles currently being fought are consuming all the interest of Members of Congress such that, right now, there is no one willing to champion trade issues.
A number of companies have suffered adversely waiting for GSP renewal. It is reported some of those companies are on the verge of bankruptcy. Their pricing is not competitive if duty is included. If it is excluded, the company loses money on its sales. If you are so affected and would like to take action, please call or e-mail us to obtain information about what you can do to help the situation.

GSP Renewed

In a move surprising for its speed, in the last minute G.S.P. was added to the minimum wage bill (H.R. 3448) which was signed into law by Pres. Clinton in late August. The renewal period is August 1, 1995 through May 31, 1997. However, the new law does not take effect until October 1, 1996. As a result, importers are required to pay duty until then. Entries made on or after October 1, 1996 may be filed duty free. As to refunds of duties previously paid, Customs currently estimates it will take approximately two (2) months from October 1, 1996 for it to prepare and issue the necessary refund orders. What is not clear is how much additional time the Treasury Dept. will require to actually issue the refund checks.

Importers should bear in mind that even once reinstated, there will be changes in eligibility. Pakistan lost GSP eligibility for some products as of July 1, 1996. Malaysia loses eligibility for all products on January 1, 1997. The new law also changes country eligibility lowering the qualifying gross national product (GNP) from $11,800 to $8,600. Greenland, French Polynesia, Cyprus and the Cayman Islands are expected to be impacted by this GNP change. When a country reaches $8,600 in GDP, it is required to continue to meet the 50% competitive need limit (CNL) on all eligible articles for the following two (2) years. CNL is reduced from $122 million to $75 million beginning January 1, 1996. CNL looks to whether or not an article from an eligible country equals or exceeds a 50% share of the total value of U.S. imports of that article. If so, then the article is no longer GSP eligible. The standard annual increase level is now set at $5 million yearly commencing January 1, 1996. The CNL standard is inapplicable if the article was not produced in the U.S. as of January 1, 1995. The new law also allows the President to designate any article as GSP eligible from an eligible country provided the article is not import-sensitive. Textiles and apparel, footwear, handbags, luggage, flat goods, work gloves, leather wearing apparel, watches and selected electronic, glass and steel articles remain exempt from GSP. Further, if an article has been considered for eligibility and been denied, it may not be reconsidered for another three (3) years.

Whether or not the entries were previously liquidated, Customs has 180 days to issue duty refunds which are to be issued only upon proper request filed with the proper Customs officer. U.S. Customs has repeatedly advised the importing public that if an entry was filed electronically and an "A" preceded the tariff number, Customs would automatically issue a refund of duty. Automatic refunds were issued the last time GSP expired and was then renewed. Nonetheless, importers would be wise to monitor their entries to insure receipt of all duties due plus interest. In the case of non-electronic filers, written claims should be filed with the local port to obtain duty refunds. The 180 day refund period starts on the date of enactment - August 20, 1996, so all refund claims must be filed on or before February 16, 1997.