Ways and Means Committee Trade Subcommittee Chair Adrian Smith (R-NE) and Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) released the following statements following the committee’s markup and passage of his bill, the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Reform Act (H.R. 7986):
“GSP has been proven to benefit American manufacturers by increasing access to production components which are otherwise unavailable from domestic sources,” said Subcommittee Chair Adrian Smith. “The Biden administration’s inaction on trade matters has ceded ground to China in international markets and made reasserting congressional authority over trade policy all the more urgent. Considering the bipartisan support GSP renewal has traditionally enjoyed, it’s disappointing committee Democrats today chose partisan posturing rather than supporting legislation to strengthen American workers and industry. Reauthorizing GSP and passing the reforms in this bill will maximize the effectiveness of U.S. trade policy to counter China, boost trade relationships with our allies, and advance American leadership in rules-based trade. I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure GSP reauthorization and reform, as well as a new Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, become law.”
“This legislation makes long overdue reforms to America’s largest trade preference program that allow us to use it as a tool to curb China’s influence across the developing world and to eliminate barriers to U.S. agriculture,” said Committee Chair Jason Smith. “We are creating new opportunities for American farmers, ranchers, and workers, while countering the growing aggression of China and Russia. This is a necessary step to ensure that Congress leads on deepening relationships with trusted trading partners, while also holding them accountable to standards of importance to America’s growth and national security. I am thankful to Trade Subcommittee Chairman Smith for introducing this bill.”
The GSP Reform Act would:
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Renew the GSP trade program to December 31, 2030, and retroactively to when it expired on December 31, 2020.
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Include the first-ever GSP agriculture eligibility criteria which will insist beneficiary countries have science-based agricultural standards so American farmers and ranchers are no longer cut out of markets eager for their products.
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Reform Competitive Need Limitations and content requirements to improve usability for beneficiaries while limiting the ability of third-party nations to abuse the program.
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Allow GSP to be leveraged as a tool to counter China’s malign influence.
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Ensure foreign governments cannot easily tip the scales against U.S. innovators through discriminatory digital trade and tax policies.