Dec. 12, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging Congress and the Trump administration to review the General System of Preferences favorable tariff treatment for countries that do not engage in reciprocal tariff reductions for U.S-exported goods, particularly India and Brazil:
“For years the U.S. has given favorable tariff treatment for specific goods and services under the General System of Preferences to developing countries, a $19 billion a year program, without the U.S. receiving similar trade preferences in return. Particularly, India is the number one beneficiary of the program at $4.7 billion, and with a $2.25 trillion GDP, exacerbates the $31 billion U.S. trade deficit with India while India charges substantial tariffs on U.S. goods. Brazil, with a $1.77 trillion economy, gets another $2.2 billion from the General System of Preferences, which, although there is a relative balance of trade between the two countries, U.S. exporters still face high tariffs. Together, India and Brazil are among the larger economies in the world, and as these emerging economies continue to grow robustly, the case for favorable, non-reciprocal tariff relief fails. Congress and the Trump administration should review and reevaluate the General System of Preferences as it comes up for renewal on Dec. 31, including on India and Brazil, to see if U.S. interests are being served by the current arrangement.”
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