No. 349
To: Clients and Friends
December 11, 2006
U.S. Congress Approves Trade Bill Extending GSP, Granting Vietnam PNTR
On December 9th Congress passed a miscellaneous trade bill (H.R. 6406) that extends most
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) benefits, grants Vietnam Permanent Normal Trade
Relations (PNTR), reduces tariffs on over 500 products and extends certain textile and other
preferences to Africa and Haiti.
In summary, the key measures are as follows:
• GSP extension: The bill extends most existing GSP trade preferences for 3,400 products
from 133 developing countries for two years, until December 31, 2008. Starting next
July 1st, the President will have the discretion to end Competitive Needs Limitations (CNL)
waivers for products comprising up to 150 percent of the limit or 75 percent of total U.S.
imports. This could affect some imports from such countries as Brazil and India.
• Vietnam PNTR: The bill grants Vietnam PNTR (formerly referred to as MFN status),
which is necessary for the United States to gain market access benefits when Vietnam
accedes to the WTO next month as its 150th Member.
• Other developing country preferences: The bill continues the Andean Trade Preference
Act (ATPA), amends apparel provisions in the African Growth and Opportunity Act
(AGOA) and grants Haiti duty-free treatment for textiles and other products beyond those
available under the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI).
• Tariff reductions: The bill reduces tariffs on over 500 products, including certain
chemicals, appliances, electronics and footwear.
The trade bill passed with strong bipartisan support despite objections by some Members of
Congress over certain GSP benefits and textile concerns related to Haiti and Vietnam. The House
voted in favor of the bill 212-184 on December 8, and the Senate in favor 70-9 on December 9.
___________________________
Prepared by:
Mark D. Nguyen
(310) 576-2382
[email protected]
Bryan Cave’s International Regulatory Bulletins are available online at www.bryancave.com
Bryan Cave LLP
International Trade Client Service Group
Los Angeles
Curt Dombek, Partner, CSG Leader
David Stepp, Partner
Evan Chuck, Partner
Mark Nguyen, Senior Policy Advisor
(non-legal professional)
Katherine McDaniel, Counsel
Nicole Simonian, Counsel
Michael Zara, Associate
[email protected]; (310) 576-2219
[email protected]; (310) 576-2199
[email protected]; (310) 576-2126
[email protected]; (310) 576-2382
Washington
Stanley Marcuss, Partner
Kevin Wolf, Partner
Lyle Vander Schaaf, Partner
Daniel Schwartz, Partner
Carol Van Cleef, Partner
Albert Lo, Partner
Sylvia Rhodes, Associate
Joe Heckendorn, Associate
Kelly Slater, Associate
Corey Norton, Associate
Felipe Berer, Senior International Trade
Advisor (admitted in Brazil only)
[email protected]; (202) 508-6074
[email protected]; (202) 508-6113
[email protected]; (202) 508-6191
[email protected]; (202) 508-6025
[email protected]; (202) 508-6112
[email protected]; (202) 508-6188
[email protected]; (202) 508-6101
[email protected]; (202) 508-6193
[email protected]; (202) 508-6190
[email protected]; (202) 508-6192
[email protected]; (202) 508-6137
St. Louis
Fred Bartelsmeyer, Partner
[email protected]; (314) 259-2609
Chicago
Patricia Hanson, Counsel
Tammie Krauskopf, Counsel
[email protected]; (312) 602-5142
[email protected]; (312) 602-5000
London
Anita Esslinger, Partner
[email protected]; +44-207-246-5850
New York
Rudy Ceres, Associate
[email protected]; (212) 541-1291
Phoenix
Jeronimo Gomez del Campo, Consultant
(admitted in Mexico)
Juan Moreno, Counsel
(admitted in US and Mexico)
[email protected]; (602) 364-7065
Cecil Leong, Managing Director
Bryan Cave International Trade LLC
(non-legal professional)
Tony Kerr, Regional Director, Trade and
Customs (non-legal professional)
[email protected]; +65-6829-3883
David Liu, Partner
Chen Zhengguang, Director China
Customs Affairs (non-legal professional)
[email protected]; +86-21-6279-8166
[email protected]; +86-21-6279-8166
Singapore
Shanghai
[email protected]; (310) 576-2169
[email protected]; (310) 576-2117
[email protected]; (310) 576-2251
[email protected]; (602) 364-7219
[email protected]; +65-6829-3883