India plans to request the United States to quickly renew the generalised system of preferences (GSP) scheme, which allows market access at zero or low duties for about 3,500 Indian products, including textiles and chemicals.
The US Trade Representative’s (USTR) office did not renew the scheme for India in April, saying it wanted to hold an eligibility review.
GSP is the largest and oldest U.S. trade preference program. Established by the Trade Act of 1974, GSP promotes economic development by eliminating duties on thousands of products when imported from one of 120 designated beneficiary countries and territories.
Though the US Congress had voted to extend the GSP scheme through 2020, it was not done so for India, Indonesia and Kazakhstan.
Petitions were filed by the US dairy and medical device industries highlighting trade barriers in India and requesting a review of India’s GSP benefits.
The United States is reportedly unhappy with recent caps imposed by India on medical products such as stents.
