Sec. 2. Findings and sense of Congress

290 words·~1 min read·/bill/118/hr/7555/ih/section-2

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Congress makes the following findings: The Generalized System of Preferences (“GSP”) program has been a cornerstone of United States trade policy for half a century and has played a pivotal role in fostering economic growth and development in low- and middle-income countries while benefiting American consumers, businesses, and workers. The GSP program serves the economic, strategic, security, and foreign policy interests and objectives of the United States, including the United States’ strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China, by incentivizing increased trade, promoting global standards of living, and strengthening our economic engagement with developing economies.

The extended lapse in congressional authorization for the GSP program, from December 31, 2020 to the date of enactment of this Act, has undermined these interests and objectives, resulted in significant financial strain on American companies, and contributed to higher prices for American consumers. Over $3,000,000,000 in estimated tariffs have been paid in tariffs by American businesses since the expiration of the GSP program, halting business expansion, hindering job creation, and preventing crucial investments in operations and infrastructure.

Delays and uncertainty surrounding the future of the GSP program have inhibited strategic planning for companies interested in reconfiguring their supply chains to align their investments with principles of near-shoring and friend-shoring, compounding the challenge posed by billions of dollars in additional tariffs. Congress has historically provided for full retroactive repayment of tariffs imposed on American companies as a result of lapses in authorization for the GSP program when renewing or extending the program.

It is the sense of Congress that the renewal of the GSP program should be accompanied by the retroactive return of tariffs paid on the entry of articles that would have received duty-free or preferential treatment if the program had been renewed.