[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 140 (Thursday, July 21, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47488-47489]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-17202]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Results of the 2015/2016 
Annual GSP Review

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the results of the 2015/2016 Annual GSP 
Review with respect to: Products considered for addition to the list of 
eligible products for GSP; products considered for removal from the 
list of eligible products for certain beneficiary countries; decisions 
related to competitive need limitations (CNLs), including petitions for 
waivers of CNLs; and requests for redesignations of products previously 
excluded from GSP eligibility for certain countries.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erland Herfindahl, Deputy Assistant 
U.S. Trade Representative for GSP, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative. The telephone number is (202) 395-6364, the fax number 
is (202) 395-9674, and the email address is 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The GSP program provides for the duty-free 
treatment of designated articles when imported from beneficiary 
developing countries. The GSP program is authorized by Title V of the 
Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.), as amended, and is 
implemented in accordance with Executive Order 11888 of November 24, 
1975, as modified by subsequent Executive Orders and Presidential 
Proclamations.

Results of the 2015/2016 Annual GSP Review

    In the 2015/2016 Annual GSP Review, the TPSC reviewed: (1) 
Petitions to add 30 products to the list of those eligible for duty-
free treatment under GSP; (2) petitions to remove GSP eligibility of 
five products for certain GSP beneficiary countries; (3) four petitions 
to waive CNLs for products from certain beneficiary countries; (4) 
products eligible for de minimis waivers of CNLs; (5) requests for 
redesignation of products previously excluded from GSP eligibility for 
certain beneficiary countries; and (6) country practice petitions 
previously submitted as part of the 2015/2016 Annual Review and earlier 
reviews.
    In Presidential Proclamation 9466 of June 30, 2016 the President 
implemented his decisions regarding GSP product eligibility issues 
arising out of the 2015/2016 Annual GSP Review, including CNL waivers 
and product redesignations. This notice provides further information on 
the results of the 2015/2016 Annual GSP Review, including disposition 
of country practice petitions. These results, comprising seven lists, 
are available for public viewing at http://www.regulations.gov in 
docket USTR-2015-0013, under ``Supporting and Related Materials'' and 
at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/preference-programs/generalized-system-preferences-gsp/current-reviews/gsp-20152016.

Specific Results

    The Administration added 27 travel and luggage goods products to 
the list of products eligible for duty-free treatment for least 
developed beneficiary developing countries (LDBDCs) and African Growth 
and Opportunity Act (AGOA) countries and has decided to defer action on 
a decision for non-LDBDCs. The Administration denied the petition to 
make certain effervescent wine (HTS 2204.21.20) eligible for duty-free 
treatment under GSP. The Administration has decided to defer a decision 
on final disposition of petitions to add essential oils of lemon (HTS 
3301.13.00) and high-carbon ferromanganese (HTS 7202.11.50) to the list 
of products eligible for duty-free treatment under GSP for all GSP 
beneficiary countries. See List I (Decision on Petition to Add a 
Product to the List of Eligible Products for GSP).
    The President removed polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin (HTS 
3907.60.00) and certain fluorescent brightening agents (HTS 3204.20.10 
and HTS 3204.20.80) from India from GSP eligibility based on petitions 
from interested parties. The Administration denied the petitions to 
remove certain fluorescent brightening agents (HTS 3204.20.10 and HTS 
3204.20.80) from Indonesia and PET film (HTS 3920.62.00 and 3921.90.40) 
from Brazil. See List II (Decisions on Petitions to Remove a Product 
from Certain Beneficiary Countries from GSP).
    Articles that exceeded the CNLs in 2015 and that, effective July 1, 
2016, are excluded from GSP eligibility when imported from a specific 
beneficiary country are described in List III (Products Newly Subject 
to Exclusion by Competitive Need Limitation).
    The President granted petitions for waivers of CNLs for the 
following products: (1) Certain pitted dates (HTS 0804.10.60) from 
Tunisia; (2) certain inactive yeasts (HTS 2102.20.60) from Brazil; and 
(3) certain nonalcoholic beverages (HTS 2202.90.90) from Thailand. See 
List IV (Products Receiving a Waiver of the Competitive Need 
Limitation). The President denied the petition for a waiver of CNLs for 
certain motor vehicle parts and accessories (HTS 8707.50.95) from 
India.
    The President granted de minimis waivers to 111 articles that 
exceeded the 50-percent import-share CNL but for which the aggregate 
value of all U.S. imports of that article was below the 2015 de minimis 
level of $22.5 million. See List V (Decisions on Products Eligible for 
De Minimis Waivers). The articles for which de minimis waivers were 
granted will continue to be eligible for duty-free treatment under GSP 
when imported from the associated countries.
    No products previously excluded from GSP eligibility for certain 
countries were redesignated as eligible for GSP as a result of the 
2015/2016 Annual Review.

[[Page 47489]]

Country Practice Petitions

    The status of country practice petitions considered in the 2015/
2016 GSP Annual Review is described in List VI (Active GSP Country 
Practice Reviews). This list includes petitions accepted as part of 
annual reviews from previous years.

Erland Herfindahl,
Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Generalized System 
of Preferences and Chair of the GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy 
Staff Committee, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2016-17202 Filed 7-20-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F6-P