GSP Instructions

As you probably know, Congress could not get its act together to pass an extension of GSP before the end of 2010. That means that merchandise that might otherwise have been duty-free is now forced to entry the U.S. dutiable. This is not an unusual circumstance. So much so that Customs and Border Protection has a means of dealing with this, which works on the assumption that GSP is not dead and will be reauthorized.

In the meantime, importers should continue to use the GSP SPI on entries. That effectively flags entries so that when Congress renews GSP, the entries can be liquidated with GSP benefits. But, until that happens, duty deposits must be made at the applicable MFN rate.

AGOA, on the other hand, has not expired and can continue to be used. And, to round out the alphabet soup of preference programs, ATPDEA was granted a short extension through February 12, 2011 for Columbia and Ecuador, but not for Peru (which should not be harmed due to the trade agreement with the US).

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