ITIF: USTR Should Expand Use of Preference System

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative should expand its use of the Generalized System of Preferences to encourage beneficiaries to make policy and enforcement changes, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said in a report released Monday. The agency's foreign trade barrier and intellectual property reports should more directly guide decisions "to self-initiate reviews of whether GSP beneficiaries are breaching the program’s trade, market access, or intellectual property criteria," the ITIF said. The USTR is already reviewing GSP benefits for Indonesia, India, Kazakhstan, Thailand and Turkey over various issues. If the GSP reviews don't produce the intended changes, "USTR should partially or fully suspend or withdraw that country’s access to GSP benefits -- as this has clearly dragged on for far too long for many GSP beneficiaries," the ITIF said. The criteria for GSP "graduation," based on income and trade competitiveness, should be more strictly enforced, it said. That should start "with revoking Turkey’s access to the program," the ITIF said.