Today, the "Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)" Seminar was held in the Libertador Room of the Palacio San Martín, organized by the Argentine Foreign Ministry and aimed at providing technical tools for Argentine exporters to take full advantage of tariff exemptions afforded by this system.
The Seminar included presentations by the Secretary for International Economic Relations, Horacio Reyser; the Economic Counselor of the U.S. Embassy to Argentina, Timothy Stater; the Secretary of Foreign Trade, Marisa Bircher; and two high-ranking authorities from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR): Erland Herfindahl -Deputy Assistant for the GSP- and Eleanor Shea -Director for MERCOSUR.
The event was attended by over 120 participants, including representatives from companies, chambers and private sector organizations, who later engaged in dialogue with officials from the USTR.
Secretary Reyser underscored the full availability of the Foreign Ministry to work together with the private sector in order to increase exports through access to the GSP, benefiting regional economies and creating new jobs.
The GSP is an unilateral trade policy instrument of the United States, adopted to support economic growth of developing and least developed countries which are beneficiaries of the programme.
Argentina was reinstated as a beneficiary of the GSP in December 2017, after a five-year suspension. The GSP covers approximately 3500 tariff headings, including products of regional economies such as wine, non-cocoa sugar confectionery, preserved beef, olive oil, cheese and strawberries, which may all access the U.S. market at zero tariff.
From January to August 2018, Argentine exports to the U.S. exceeded USD 3 billion, including almost USD 200 million at zero tariff thanks to the GSP. It is estimated that this amount may increase and, therefore, the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Production and the Secretary for Agro-Industry are working to disseminate and strengthen the adoption of the GSP through its correct use and the expansion of the Argentine export offer under it.
Further information on the GSP is available at:
GSP Guidebook for Exporters (available at the Argentina Trade Net website): http://www.argentinatradenet.gob.ar/es/gu%C3%ADa-sint%C3%A9tica-para-exportadores-%E2%80%9Csistema-generalizado-de-preferencias-de-los-estados-unidos-de
GSP Program Information (available at the USTR website): https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/trade-development/preference-programs/generalized-system-preference-gsp
Video of the Seminar available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxYC32cLAAE
