President Gives Duty-Free Access to Travel Goods from Certain Least-Developed Nations and Nations of Sub-Saharan Africa

The Office of the United States Trade Representative on June 30, 2016, announced the outcome of the Obama Administration’s Annual Product Review under the Generalized System of Preferences ("GSP") program.

This review adds new duty-free status for travel goods (including luggage, backpacks, handbags, and wallets) for Least Developed Beneficiary Developing Countries ("LDBDCs") and African Growth and Opportunity Act ("AGOA") countries.

GSP is a 40-year-old trade preference program under which the United States provides duty-free treatment to many imports from beneficiary developing countries and additional products for LDBDCs.

Several organizations had called for the president to grant travel goods GSP eligibility to all GSP-beneficiary nations, rather than limited it to LDBDCs and AGOA:

• American Apparel & Footwear Association ("AAFA")
• American Association of Exporters and Importers ("AAEI")
• Coalition of New England Companies for Trade
• Columbia River Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association
• Customs Brokers & International Freight Forwarders of Washington State
• Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of Northern California
• Emergency Committee for American Trade ("ECAT")
• Express Association of America ("EAA")
• Fashion Accessory Shippers Association ("FASA")
• Gemini Shippers Association
• Los Angeles Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association
• National Foreign Trade Council ("NFTC")
• National Retail Federation ("NRF")
• Outdoor Industry Association ("OIA")
• Pacific Coast Council of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association
• Promotional Products Association International ("PPAI")
• Retail Industry Leaders Association ("RILA")
• San Diego Customs Brokers Association
• Sports & Fitness Industry Association
• Toy Industry Association ("TIA")
• Travel Goods Association ("TGA")
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• U.S. Fashion Industry Association ("USFIA")