[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 221 (Thursday, November 15, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57527-57528]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-24919]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Results of the 2017/2018 Annual Generalized System of Preferences 
Review

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is 
announcing the results of the 2016/2017 Annual Generalized System of 
Preferences (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 to reinstate/
redesignate products previously excluded from GSP eligibility for 
certain countries.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lauren Gamache, Director for GSP at 
(202) 395-2974 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background

    The GSP program provides for the duty-free treatment of designated 
articles when imported from beneficiary developing countries (BDCs). 
The GSP program is authorized by title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 
U.S.C. 2461-2467), as amended, and is implemented in accordance with 
Executive Order 11888 of November 24, 1975, as modified by subsequent 
Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations.
    Each year, USTR leads the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee 
(TPSC) in reviewing the list of products eligible for GSP benefits. 
After completion of a process that includes public hearings, USTR 
provides recommendations to the President on appropriate actions based 
on statutory criteria, including exclusions from duty-free treatment of 
products from certain countries when they have reached the statutory 
CNL thresholds.
    The GSP statute (19 U.S.C. 2463(c)(2)) establishes CNLs as a basis 
for withdrawing duty-free treatment. The statute provides that when the 
President determines that a GSP beneficiary has exported to the United 
States during any calendar year a quantity of an eligible article that 
either is greater than a specified amount ($180 million for 2017), or 
exceeds 50 percent of the appraised value of the total U.S. imports of 
that article, the President ``shall, not later than November 1 of the 
next calendar year, terminate the duty-free treatment for that 
article'' from that beneficiary, unless a waiver is granted.\1\
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    \1\ CNLs do not apply to least-developed or sub-Saharan African 
beneficiaries (19 U.S.C. 2463(c)(2)(D)).
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    The statute provides that the President may waive either CNL if, 
before November 1 of the calendar year following the year in which 
imports exceeded CNLs, the President (1) receives advice from the U.S. 
International Trade Commission (USITC) on whether any industry in the 
United States is ``likely to be adversely affected by such waiver''; 
(2) determines, based on certain statutory considerations,\2\ that such 
a waiver is in the national economic interest; and (3) publishes that 
determination in the Federal Register. The statute further provides 
that the President may disregard the 50 percent CNL if total imports of 
an article did not exceed a de minimis amount ($23.5 million in 2017), 
or if the product was not produced in the United States in any of the 
three preceding calendar years.
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    \2\ These include the general statutory considerations for 
granting duty-free treatment for any article from any beneficiary 
under 19 U.S.C. 2461, as well as the country eligibility criteria 
set forth in 19 U.S.C. 2462(c).
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    As part of the 2017/2018 GSP Annual Review, the TPSC reviewed three 
types of actions related to the CNLs: (1) Whether to grant CNL waivers 
for products from certain countries, (2) whether to redesignate 
products from certain countries previously excluded from GSP 
eligibility based on CNLs; and (3) whether to grant de minimis CNL 
waivers for products from certain countries.

B. Results of the 2017/2018 Annual GSP Review

    In the 2017/2018 Annual GSP Review, the TPSC reviewed (1) petitions 
to add nine products to the list of those eligible for duty-free 
treatment under GSP; (2) petitions to remove the GSP eligibility of two 
products; (3) petitions to waive CNLs for five products from 
beneficiary countries; (4) 92 products eligible for one-year de minimis 
waivers of CNLs; and (5) petitions to redesignate products previously 
excluded from GSP

[[Page 57528]]

eligibility for certain beneficiary countries.
    Presidential Proclamation 9813 of October 30, 2018, implements the 
President's decisions regarding the 2017/2018 Annual GSP Review, 
including CNL waivers and product redesignations. The modifications to 
the GSP program that were implemented by Presidential Proclamation 9813 
became effective on November 1, 2018. This notice provides a summary of 
the results of the 2017/2018 Annual GSP Review. You can also view the 
results, comprising six lists, at https://www.regulations.gov using 
docket number USTR-2017-0014, under ``Supporting and Related 
Materials'' and on the USTR website at https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/IssueAreas/gsp/Decisions%20on%202017_2018%20%20product%20review.pdf.
    As described in List I, the President denied all petitions to add 
products to the list of GSP-eligible products for all BDCs. The 
products in List I, however, remain eligible for duty-free preferences 
for least-developed beneficiary countries only. For ease of reference, 
a brief description and the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) 
categories of the nine products included in List I follows:

1. Certain fresh pears (HTS 0808.30.40)
2. certain melon and citrus fruit peel (HTS 0814.00.80)
3. cottonseed (HTS 1207.29.00)
4. crude sunflower-seed or safflower oil (HTS 1512.11.00)
5. certain prepared or preserved apples (HTS 2008.99.05)
6. p-Anisic acid, clofibrate, and 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (HTS 
2918.99.05)
7. certain aromatic carboxylic acids and their derivatives described in 
U.S. Note 3 (HTS 2918.99.43)
8. certain aromatic carboxylic acids and their derivatives not covered 
in U.S. Note 3 (HTS 2918.99.47)
9. certain rubber transmission V-belts (HTS 4010.33.30)

    A complete description of the nine products is included in List I. 
By statute (19 U.S.C. 2463(a)(1)(C)), these products may not be 
reconsidered for addition to GSP for the next three years.
    As described in List II, the President granted the petition to 
remove tart cherry juice concentrate and other cherry juice (HTS 
2009.89.6011 and HTS 2009.89.6019) from GSP eligibility for Turkey. To 
reflect this change, cherry juice imported into the United States now 
falls under a new HTS category, 2009.89.65. Cherry juice from Turkey 
now enters the United States at the Normal Trade Relations (NTR) duty 
rate in column 1 of the HTS. In addition, the President denied the 
petition to remove nonadhesive plates and sheets (HTS 3920.51.50) from 
GSP for Indonesia and Thailand. These products will continue to enter 
the United States duty-free.
    As described in List III, the President granted a petition to 
redesignate ammonium perrhentate (HTS 2841.90.20) from Kazakhstan to 
GSP. This product now enters the United States duty-free. The remaining 
redesignation petitions were denied: Apple, quince and pear pastes and 
purees (HTS 2007.9948) from Argentina; sunflower seed oilcake (HTS 
2306.30.00) from Argentina; certain odoriferous or flavoring compounds 
(HTS 2909.50.40) from Indonesia; fancy bovine leather (full grain, 
whole, unsplit) (HTS 4107.11.80) from Argentina; certain tropical 
plywood (HTS 4412.31.41) from Indonesia; granite monumental or building 
stone (HTS 6802.93.00) from India; and certain ferroniobium (HTS 
7202.93.80) from Brazil. These products will continue to enter the 
United States at NTR duty rates and, by statute (19 U.S.C. 
2463(a)(1)(C)), may not be reconsidered for addition to GSP for the 
next three years.
    As described in List IV, three articles exceeded the CNLs in 2017 
for which no petition was received and now enter the United States at 
the NTR duty rates. These products are ethers of acyc monohydric 
alcohols (HTS 2909.19.18) and refined copper (HTS 7403.19.00) from 
Brazil, and washing machines (HTS 8450.20.00) from Thailand.
    As described in List V, the President granted three petitions for 
CNL waivers: (1) Edible birds' nests (HTS 0410.00.00) from Thailand; 
(2) lithium carbonates (HTS 2836.91.00) from Argentina; and (3) 
ferrosilicon chromium (HTS 7202.50.00) from Kazakhstan. These three 
products will continue to enter the United States duty-free. The 
following products did not receive a CNL waiver and are therefore 
subject to the NTR duty rates: Essential oils of lemon (HTS 3301.03.00) 
from Argentina, and monumental or building stone (HTS 6802.99.00) from 
Brazil.
    As described in List VI, the President did not grant de minimis 
waivers to 92 products 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 2017 de minimis level of $23.5 million. These products 
now enter the United States at the NTR duty rate.

Erland Herfindahl,
Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Generalized System 
of Preferences, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2018-24919 Filed 11-14-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F9-P