Washington -- The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) -- a trade preference program for developing countries -- will almost certainly expire once again June 30.

Congress let GSP authority lapse from September to December 1994, again from July 1995 to August 1996 and again from May to August 1997, but each time reauthorized it retroactively to cover the lapsed period.

No legislation has advanced yet in either the House of Representatives or Senate to extend GSP.

A U.S. trade official said that Congress could consider GSP extension as an attachment to some other trade bill later in 1998 during its short legislative session.

One potential legislative vehicle for GSP is the Africa trade bill, which would include expansion of GSP benefits for qualified sub-Saharan countries. The Africa trade bill has passed in the House but has stalled in the Senate in a dispute over textile provisions.

GSP provides U.S. zero-tariff benefits on more than 4,400 selected products or product categories from more than 140 eligible developing countries. The value of GSP duty-free imports in 1997 was about $15,500 million, accounting for about 13 percent of total U.S. imports from GSP beneficiaries and 1.8 percent of total U.S. imports.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) adds and subtracts products from GSP based on changing market conditions. It also eliminates benefits for countries that violate worker rights or that fail to protect U.S. copyrights and patents. It also has authority to add products only for the least-developed countries.

In anticipation of GSP lapsing, the U.S. Customs Service issued a notice in the June 16 Federal Register announcing that importers can claim no duty-free treatment for GSP-eligible articles entering after June 30.

Customs has devised a system to make application for refunds easier if GSP is extended retroactively again, however.

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