Update on Future of GSP for India, Turkey
- May 2, 2019
Per our Shap Flash on March 5th, President Trump announced that India and Turkey’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) status would be revoked.
Trump’s announcement followed a 2018 USTR investigation into the trade and fairness practices of several GSP eligible governments, after various complaints from the U.S. dairy and medical sectors claimed that the program yielded unfavorable and unfair market barriers in India.
A separate letter to Congress revealed an end to Turkey’s GSP status as well. Turkey’s GSP status is being revoked as it no longer meets the criteria to be considered a developing country.
For GSP benefits to be removed from India and Turkey, another Presidential proclamation must be issued 60 days after the White House’s initial March 4th notice to Congress and the Indian and Turkish governments. Therefore, theoretically, this could happen any time after May 3rd if President Trump still deems it necessary. However, we haven’t heard of any active discussions between the governments, though we hear that the U.S. is open to communicating with each country.
Shapiro will continue to monitor the situation and provide status updates as they become available.