DATES:
June 19, 2018: The GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will convene a public hearing on the GSP country practice reviews of India, Indonesia, and Kazakhstan in Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street NW, Washington DC 20508, beginning at 10:00 am.
June 5, 2018 at midnight EDT: Deadline for submission of comments, pre-hearing briefs, and requests to appear at the June 19, 2018, public hearing.
July 17, 2018 at midnight EDT: Deadline for submission of post-hearing briefs.
The GSP program provides for the duty-free treatment of designated articles when imported from beneficiary developing countries. The GSP program is authorized by Title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461 - 2467), as amended, and is implemented in accordance with Executive Order 11888 of November 24, 1975, as modified by subsequent Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations. USTR will lead a review of the eligibility of India, Indonesia, and Kazakhstan for benefits under the GSP program. These country practice reviews are undertaken on the recommendation of the TPSC pursuant to 15 CFR 2007.0(f) to determine whether the current laws and practices of India, Indonesia, and Kazakhstan meet the GSP eligibility criteria. These reviews are the result of country eligibility petitions submitted by interested stakeholders and an assessment of the 25 Asian and Pacific Island GSP beneficiary countries conducted by the GSP Subcommittee.
1. India Country Eligibility Review
The country practice review of India will focus on whether it is meeting the GSP eligibility criterion that requires a GSP beneficiary country to assure the United States that it will provide equitable and reasonable access to its market (19 U.S.C. 2462(c)(4)). USTR is accepting two petitions asserting that India is not meeting this criterion: one from the National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council, and the other from the Advanced Medical Technology Association. In addition, through the new GSP Country Assessment process, the GSP Subcommittee identified potential concerns with India’s compliance with the GSP criterion that requires a GSP beneficiary country to assure the United States that it will provide equitable and reasonable access to its market (19 U.S.C. 2462(c)(4)). As described in the India Chapter of the 2018 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, India has implemented a wide array of trade barriers that create serious negative effects on U.S. commerce. Due to the similar nature of the issues raised in these petitions with concerns identified in the assessment process, the petitions and the self-initiated review will be combined into one overall review of India’s GSP eligibility based on the GSP market access criterion.
2. Indonesia Country Eligibility Review
The country practice review of Indonesia will focus on whether it is meeting two GSP criteria: (1) the GSP criterion that requires a GSP beneficiary country to assure the United States that it will provide equitable and reasonable access to its market (19 U.S.C. 2462(c)(4)), and (2) the GSP criterion that requires a GSP beneficiary country to reduce trade-distorting investment practices and reduce or eliminate barriers to trade in services (19 U.S.C. 2462(c)(6)). As described in the Indonesia Chapter of the 2018 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, Indonesia has implemented a wide array of trade barriers that create serious negative effects on U.S. commerce. The existing review of Indonesia’s compliance with the GSP criterion related to intellectual property rights (19 U.S.C. 2462(c)(5)) is separate, and will continue.
3. Kazakhstan Country Eligibility Review
The country practice review of Kazakhstan will focus on whether it is meeting the GSP criterion requiring a GSP beneficiary country to take steps to afford internationally recognized worker rights to workers in the country (19 U.S.C. 2462(b)(2)(G)). USTR is accepting a petition filed by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). The petition alleges that the Government of Kazakhstan actively restricts the right to form trade unions and employer associations without prior permission, prevents workers and employers from joining organizations of their own choosing, interferes in the structure and activities of worker and employer organizations, and targets labor leaders with arrests and prosecutions for exercising their rights.
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