India wants Revival of US GSP

Commerce Minister Sharma expressed confidence that the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (US GSP) scheme, which expired last December, will be revived soon by the US Congress with full and long term reauthorization. He was speaking to a delegation of American and German businessmen in the capital on 1 September. The U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) is a program designed to promote economic growth in the developing world by providing preferential duty-free entry for up to 4,800 products from 129 designated beneficiary countries and territories. Citing the adverse impact on employment in vulnerable sectors, the Minister said that US Government has withdrawn the GSP benefit in respect of a number of products from India, e.g. jewellery. However, benefits of this have gone to China and France.

[Source: Ministry of Commerce & Industry Press Release dated 1^st September 2011]