Representatives Brady And Buchanan Introduce 6-Year GSP Renewal

In a victory for the RV Industry Association and other associations advocating for a longer duration for the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Kevin Brady and Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member Rep. Vern Buchanan have introduced a bill to do just that.

The Trade Preferences and American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2021, a companion to the bill Senator Wyden introduced last month, would reauthorize the Generalized System of Preferences program for a full 6 years, rather than the shorter periods we have seen with recent renewals. Specifically, the bill would extend the program retroactively to January 1, 2021, with a new expiration date of January1, 2027.

The bill pairs the renewal with new criteria for participating countries, including:

1. Requiring the beneficiary country to “effectively enforce its environmental laws or regulations” and “adopt and maintain measures implementing its obligations under common multilateral environmental agreements;”
2. Ensuring that any beneficiary country has not “engag[ed] in gross violations of internationally recognized human rights in that country;”
3. Considering the extent to which the country is achieving goals surrounding women’s rights and gender equality;
4. Considering the extent to which the country has established “or is making continual progress towards establishing” rule of law, economic policies to reduce poverty, and a system to combat corruption and bribery;
5. Considering the extent to which the country has refrained from imposing or eliminated digital trade barriers, and taken steps to ensure digital consumer protections.

The RV Industry Association has been one of the loudest voices in support of a longer renewal and applauds Representatives Brady and Buchanan for introducing legislation that would provide long-term certainty for American manufacturers who rely on the GSP program.

“The RV Industry Association appreciates the efforts by leaders on the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees to create a path to renew the Generalized System of Preferences and urges the House and Senate to move as quickly as possible to finalize renewal,” said RV Industry Association Senior Manager of Government Affairs Samantha Rocci. “The expiration of the GSP program is costing our sector $1.5 million a month in duties for products that are not available in the United States. The RV Industry Association calls on Congress to pass a long-term renewal of the program to create an incentive for countries to meet criteria Congress is considering for the program.  For new criteria to be effective, countries must have an incentive to remain in the program.”

For more information, contact Samantha Rocci at srocci@rvia.org