USTR Announces Review to Consider Whether Kosovo is Eligible for GSP
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has published a notice in Monday's Federal Register announcing the initiation of a review to consider designating the Republic of Kosovo as a beneficiary developing country under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. Public comments on whether Kosovo meets certain eligibility criteria for designation as a BDC must be submitted to USTR by October 17, 2008.
The U.S. recognized the Republic of Kosovo as a sovereign state on February 18, 2008 after it declared its independence from Serbia. For country of origin marking purposes, merchandise produced in Kosovo must be marked as "Kosovo" or "Republic of Kosovo" when entering the U.S.
As we have reported, the GSP program is set to expire on December 31, 2008. While the House of Representatives has passed legislation (H.R. 6560) extending GSP for an additional year, the bill has not yet been considered by the Senate.
Labels: GSP