The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has officially announced that it is reviewing the eligibility of India, Kazakhstan, and Indonesia in the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) based on “concerns about the countries” compliance programme.
GSP is by far the largest and most ancient US trade programme designed to favor economic development and allow duty-free entry of thousands of products across the boundaries from beneficiary countries.
For India, GSP country eligibility review is based on its compliance with GSP market criterion while for Indonesia the eligibility review is based upon its compliance with GSP market criterion, GSP services as well as an investment criterion.Kazakhstan, on the other hand, has its eligibility concerns based on GSP worker rights criterion.
Jeffery Gerrish, US Trade Representative said,
GSP is an important tool that helps to reinforce Trump’s administration’s key principles of free and fair trade across the globe. The President is committed to ensuring that countries who receive the GSP benefit should uphold their end of the bargain by continuing to meet the eligibility criteria defined by Congress.
While US is reviewing India’s eligibility criteria based on its compliance with GSP market criterion, it is also accepting two petitions based on the same criterion.
US Dairy Industry and US medical device industry have filed a petition requesting a review of India’s eligibility for GSP benefits, given Indian trade barriers affect US exports in these two sectors.
India has implemented a wide spectrum of trade barriers that have negatively affected U.S commerce in recent years, as alleged by USTR. An acceptance of these petitions and a self-initiated review will result in an overall review of India’s compliance with GSP market criterion.