On June 29 President Obama signed H.R. 1295, which retroactively renewed the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).
Long awaited by many U.S. importers, GSP’s renewal allows nearly 5,000 products from 122 designated beneficiary countries and territories to once again be eligible for duty-free entry into the U.S. However, the good news doesn’t stop there. GSP’s renewal is being issued retroactively, meaning its duty-free benefits extend backward to import entries filed during GSP’s expiration period. According to the White House Blog, over the course of that time, U.S. businesses paid over $1 billion in tariffs that were previously duty-free.
As a result, U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) is required to reimburse eligible importers for duties paid on entries dated from 8/1/2013, the date GSP expired, to 6/29/2015, the date of GSP’s renewal. Shippers with eligible entries should check with their Customs broker immediately to confirm how their entry was originally filed, as some entries will not be reimbursed without first filing a formal request with CBP. Importers are strongly encouraged to contact their brokers as soon as possible, as the deadline for filing a formal request is December 28, 2015.
Importers: Act now
Contact your Mohawk customer service representative to confirm whether a formal request for reimbursement needs to be filed with CBP.
To read the full text of the H.R. 1295, click here.