SME Times News Bureau | 18 Sep, 2019
A group of 44 influential US Congressmen has urged the
Donald Trump administration to reinstate India as a beneficiary nation under
the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) trade programme.
The US administration had terminated India's designation as a beneficiary
developing nation under the GSP in June.
In a letter to Robert Lighthizer, US Trade Representative, the House members
suggested an "early harvest" approach that "would ensure that
long-sought market access gains for US industries are not held up by
negotiations over remaining issues".
The letter comes ahead of the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
President Trump on September 22 in Houston when the two sides are likely to
announce a deal on their trade issues, including GSP.
Led by Congressmen Jim Himes and Ron Estes, the letter to Lighthizer has been
signed by 26 Democrats and 18 Republicans, showing the strong, bipartisan
support for reinstating GSP benefits for imports from India.
"We also have a strong desire to see the GSP eligibility for India
reinstated. Should there be progress in negotiations, we hope you will use the
tools provided by the GSP statute as warranted, such a partial
reinstatement," the letter read.
"An early harvest approach would ensure that long-sought market access
gains for US industries are not held up by negotiations over remaining issues,
thereby providing swift relief for both American exporters and importers.
Resolving some individual issues quickly could build momentum for future
successes," it added.
Just as US industries are harmed by lack of fair and reciprocal access to
India's market, American companies and workers also are harmed by new tariffs
due to GSP termination, the lawmakers wrote.
"The costs are real for our constituents and growing every day. We urge
you to continue negotiations and consider an early harvest to help American
jobs that depend on two-way trade between the United States and India,"
they said.
Observing that the US has legitimate concerns about India, the lawmakers wrote
those policies negatively affect US companies trying to access its market,
including a number of longstanding issues that have been subject to
inter-governmental talks for years.
"As you know, several US industries filed petitions under GSP's market access
criterion which were accepted for review in April 2018. Ultimately, failure to
make sufficient progress on the issues led to termination of India's GSP
eligibility on June 5, 2019," they said.
"We are encouraged to see continued engagement between the administration
and the newly-elected government of India that assumed office in late May,
including visits by senior USTR and Indian officials over the summer. The
change in government provides a fresh opportunity to address outstanding
concerns, and we hope that new Indian officials will offer concrete solutions
that improve market access for American companies and workers," the
Congressmen wrote in the letter.
Under the GSP programme, nearly 2,000 products including auto components and
textile materials can enter the US duty-free if the beneficiary developing
countries meet the eligibility criteria established by Congress.