Washington, DC – The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced today that President Trump is suspending $817 million in trade preferences for Thailand under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program based on its lack of sufficient progress providing the United States with equitable and reasonable market access for pork products.
USTR also announced the closure of GSP eligibility reviews with no loss of benefits for three countries: Georgia, based on improvements in the protection of worker rights; Uzbekistan, also based on improvements in the protection of worker rights; and Indonesia, based on improvements aimed at providing the United States with equitable and reasonable market access. USTR also announced the closure of the GSP designation review of Laos with no change in status and the opening of two new GSP eligibility reviews of Eritrea and Zimbabwe, based on worker rights concerns.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates the effective use of the GSP program to improve labor standards and help U.S. businesses and workers succeed,” said U.S. Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer. “It also demonstrates the Trump Administration’s commitment to robust monitoring and enforcement of our trade preference programs and underscores that when countries do not meet the congressionally mandated eligibility criteria, we will take action by limiting their preferential duty-free access to the U.S. market.”
To read the full press release, click here.