[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7555 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7555

        To extend the Generalized System of Preferences program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 5, 2024

  Ms. Wasserman Schultz (for herself, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Ms. Wilson of 
  Florida, Mr. Rutherford, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, and Ms. Salazar) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
        To extend the Generalized System of Preferences program.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Repayment of Extra Tariffs with 
Renewal Of GSP Act'' or the ``RETRO GSP Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Generalized System of Preferences (``GSP'') program 
        has been a cornerstone of United States trade policy for half a 
        century and has played a pivotal role in fostering economic 
        growth and development in low- and middle-income countries 
        while benefiting American consumers, businesses, and workers.
            (2) The GSP program serves the economic, strategic, 
        security, and foreign policy interests and objectives of the 
        United States, including the United States' strategic 
        competition with the People's Republic of China, by 
        incentivizing increased trade, promoting global standards of 
        living, and strengthening our economic engagement with 
        developing economies.
            (3) The extended lapse in congressional authorization for 
        the GSP program, from December 31, 2020 to the date of 
        enactment of this Act, has undermined these interests and 
        objectives, resulted in significant financial strain on 
        American companies, and contributed to higher prices for 
        American consumers.
            (4) Over $3,000,000,000 in estimated tariffs have been paid 
        in tariffs by American businesses since the expiration of the 
        GSP program, halting business expansion, hindering job 
        creation, and preventing crucial investments in operations and 
        infrastructure.
            (5) Delays and uncertainty surrounding the future of the 
        GSP program have inhibited strategic planning for companies 
        interested in reconfiguring their supply chains to align their 
        investments with principles of near-shoring and friend-shoring, 
        compounding the challenge posed by billions of dollars in 
        additional tariffs.
            (6) Congress has historically provided for full retroactive 
        repayment of tariffs imposed on American companies as a result 
        of lapses in authorization for the GSP program when renewing or 
        extending the program.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
renewal of the GSP program should be accompanied by the retroactive 
return of tariffs paid on the entry of articles that would have 
received duty-free or preferential treatment if the program had been 
renewed.

SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES.

    (a) In General.--Section 505 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 
2465) is amended by striking ``December 31, 2020'' and inserting 
``December 31, 2029''.
    (b) Application of Retroactive Treatment.--Notwithstanding section 
505 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2465), section 514 of the 
Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1514), or any other provision of law and 
subject to subsection (c), any entry of a covered article to which 
duty-free treatment or other preferential treatment under title V of 
the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.) would have applied if 
the entry had been made on December 31, 2020, that was made--
            (1) after December 31, 2020; and
            (2) before the date of enactment of this Act,
shall be liquidated or reliquidated as though such entry occurred on 
December 31, 2020.
    (c) Requests.--A liquidation or reliquidation may be made under 
subsection (b) with respect to an entry only if a request therefor is 
filed with U.S. Customs and Border Protection not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act that contains sufficient 
information to enable U.S. Customs and Border Protection--
            (1) to locate the entry; or
            (2) to reconstruct the entry if it cannot be located.
    (d) Payment of Amounts Owed.--Any amounts owed by the United States 
pursuant to the liquidation or reliquidation of an entry of a covered 
article under subsection (b) shall be paid, without interest, not later 
than 90 days after the date of the liquidation or reliquidation (as the 
case may be).
    (e) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``covered article'' means an article from a 
        country that is a beneficiary developing country under title V 
        of the Trade Act of (19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.) as of December 31, 
        2020; and
            (2) the terms ``enter'' and ``entry'' include a withdrawal 
        from a warehouse for consumption.
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