Friday, June 30, 2017

Travel Goods Added to GSP List

On June 30, 2017, the Executive Office of the President published in the Federal Register (82 FR 30711) Proclamation 9625 (of June 29, 2017) -- To Modify Duty-Free Treatment Under the Generalized System of Preferences and for Other Purposes.

Agathon Associates note: Of interest to our readers is Annex 1, section A, which modifies the Rates of Duty 1-Special Subcolumn for certain travel goods of Heading 4202 (Trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, attache cases, briefcases, school satchels, spectacle cases, binocular cases, camera cases, musical instrument cases, gun cases, holsters and similar containers; traveling bags, insulated food or beverage bags, toiletry bags, knapsacks and backpacks, handbags, shopping bags, wallets, purses, map cases, cigarette cases, tobacco pouches, tool bags, sports bags, bottle cases, jewelry boxes, powder cases, cutlery cases and similar containers, of leather or of composition leather, of sheeting of plastics, of textile materials, of vulcanized fiber or of paperboard, or wholly or mainly covered with such materials or with paper).

The symbol "A+" which indicates that these travel goods are eligible for Generalized System of Preferences ("GSP") duty-free entry when they are the product of a Least Developed Beneficiary Developiong Country ("LDBDC") only has been deleted and replaced by the symbol "A" which indicates that these travel goods are eligible for GSP duty-free entry when they are the product of any GSP-eligible country. This is a significant change because, with few exceptions, the LDDBCs are not major producers and shippers of such articles, while the larger list of all GSP-elgible countries includes major producers and exporters such as India and Pakistan.

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