Even during the present lapse in the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), US Customs clarified for the trade community today that GSP-eligible imports from African countries eligible under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) continue to benefit from GSP.
As currently legislated, the AGOA remains in effect through September 30, 2015.
Special program indicators (SPIs) denoted by a letter are shown
on the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the US (HTSUS) to indicate under which special
program a product may apply.
The overwhelming majority of AGOA-eligible tariff items in
the HTSUS indicate one of three GSP SPIs, namely “A,”
“A*” or “A+,” and not the AGOA’s SPI “D.”
US Customs requires that the AGOA claim be made
on these GSP-eligible tariff items by prefacing the HTSUS number with the SPI
“A.”
To receive AGOA preference for eligible goods on a
tariff item with the SPI “A,” “A*” or “A+” in the “Special” column of the HTSUS
(and not “D”), importers should transmit the entry summary with the SPI “A” and
without duty.
For further clarification please refer to the AGOA
regulations, 19 CFR 10.178a, and the GSP regulations, 19 CFR 10.171-178.
Questions about this may be directed to
the Trade Agreements Branch at FTA@dhs.gov or to myself by posting below or emailing me at clark.deanna@gmail.com
On Twitter @fashcompliance
It looks like AGOA has lost some of its appeal for African exporters. US imports from AGOA countries were at a mere $38 billion in 2013, less than half of the peak reached in 2008 (according to agoa.info). Maybe that will rebound as the US economy gains momentum.
ReplyDeleteHi Brian, I'd be asking for which African exporter the appeal of AGOA may be lost on because actually in terms of textiles and apparel, AGOA imports have seen an increase (per OTEXA). The benefit of AGOA is for the US importer in terms of duty savings, and so if as you say (and I did not check it myself) total imports are down, it could be indicative of a decrease in petroleum costs, which led to lower total dollar amounts that could suggest a "loss in appeal" since petroleum products are a huge portion of imports from the continent, which could actually mean that no African exports to the US experienced a decrease but rather a price change.
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