New Bill Would Provide Duty-Free, Quota-Free Benefits to Certain Garments, Etc. from Asia-South Pacific LDCs
On July 28, 2011, Senator Feinstein (D) introduced S. 1443, the Asia-South Pacific Trade Preferences Act. This bill would to extend certain trade preferences to certain least-developed countries in Asia and the South Pacific, and for other purposes.
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According to her remarks upon introduction of S. 1443, the bill would provide duty free and quota free benefits for garments and other products similar to those afforded to beneficiary countries under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. The countries covered by this legislation are 13 Least Developed Countries, LDCs, as defined by the United Nations and the U.S. State Department, which are not covered by any current U.S. trade preference program: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Kiribati, Laos, Maldives, Nepal, Samoa, Solomon Islands, East Timor, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
Feinstein further states that this legislation has been drafted to ensure that the benefits are granted on a performance-driven basis. That is, to be eligible, a beneficiary country would have to demonstrate that it is making continual progress toward establishing rule of law, political pluralism, the right to due process, and a market-based economy that protects private property rights.
(Currently, the beneficiary countries under this legislation account for only 4% of U.S. textile and apparel imports, compared to 24% for China, and 72% for the rest of the world. These countries will continue to be small players in the U.S. market, but the benefits of this legislation will have a major impact on their export economies.)