Sri Lanka to lobby the US for renewal of trade concessions

By APD writer Easwaran Rutnam

**COLOMBO, Dec. 30 (APD) ** – Sri Lanka on Saturday said that it will lobby the United States (US) for the renewal of trade concessions.

The United States’ Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which provides duty-free treatment to goods of 120 designated beneficiary countries and territories, has not been renewed from next month.

The GSP expires periodically, and must be renewed by the US Congress to remain in effect.

The 2015 GSP reauthorization will expire on December 31, 2017. The US Congress has not re-authorized its renewal before adjourning for the year 2017. Therefore, the GSP program will expire on December 31, 2017, and all those importing GSP eligible goods to the USA, from Sri Lanka as well as all other beneficiary countries and territories will be subject to non-preferential duties from January 1, 2018.

The Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said that the GSP alliance countries, including Sri Lanka, are lobbying for the renewal of the GSP program, and remain hopeful that the program will be renewed by the US Congress.

At present, nearly 3,500 different products from Sri Lanka are eligible to access the US market on a duty free basis under this program. The items include selected manufactured items, inputs used in manufacturing jewellery, carpets, selected agricultural and fishery products, and selected types of chemicals, minerals and marble. However, Sri Lanka’s largest single export item to the US, which is garments, is not eligible for benefits under the GSP program.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)