November 24, 2009 - #230
New Bill to Amend and Extend AGOA, GSP
On November 18, 2009, a bill was introduced into the House of Representatives proposing "to amend the African Growth and Opportunity Act [AGOA] and the Trade Act of 1974 to provide improved duty-free treatment for certain articles from certain least-developed countries, and for other purposes."
The bill, H.R. 4101 or "The New Partnership for Trade Development Act of 2009," proposes the following changes to the existing AGOA and Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programs (partial list):
- Allow the President to designate items currently excluded from GSP treatment for GSP or AGOA, providing the designation does not threaten material harm to the United States
- Extend the GSP rules of origin to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
- Allow the President to create a duty-free program for least-developed beneficiary countries other than those of AGOA
The bill also extends both AGOA and GSP through December 31, 2015; if there is a "successful conclusion" to the Doha Round Negotiations on or before December 31, 2015, the benefits of both will be extended through December 31, 2019.
The full text of the bill can be accessed online at:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h4101ih.txt.pdf
Expeditors Newsflash, (206) 674-3400, expeditors.newsflash@expeditors.com
Expeditors' Newsflash articles are compiled from a number of public sources that, to the best of Expeditors' knowledge, are true and correct. It is our intent to present only accurate information. However, in the event any information contained herein is erroneous, Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. accepts no liability or responsibility. |
files require that you have