Trade Preference Discussed in Hearing
Reform legislation on preference program is being drafted in Senate.
Compiled by staff
Published: Mar 11, 2010
The Senate Finance Committee Tuesday held another hearing to address the operation and potential reform of trade preference programs. The first meeting was held three years ago. In his opening statement, Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, announced that he and committee chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., are working to come up with joint reform legislation. Grassley told the hearing that ideally, he would hope they could introduce and markup a bill by the end of the second quarter this year.
Tuesday's hearing focused on a broader trade reform effort, which primarily involves the Generalized System of Preferences, or GSP. Grassley says they are also examining how GSP operates in relation to the Andean Trade Preference Act, the African Growth Opportunity Act, and the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act.
"A preference program should have firm graduation provisions, both on a product-specific and a country-specific basis. The point of graduation is two-fold," Grassley said. "First, graduation creates opportunities for other beneficiary developing countries to take advantage of the preferences. Second, at a certain point of development, preferences should not be extended to advanced developing economies; instead, we should expect and receive more reciprocity in our trading relationships with advanced developing economies."
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