Products that entered duty-free under the Generalized System of Preferences accounted for only a small amount of total Russian exports to the U.S., said the Congressional Research Service (CRS) in a May 19 report. GSP-eligible ferrosilicon, chromium and ferrochromium, radial tires, ceramics for laboratory use, along with aluminum wire, alloy bars, and rods accounted for 2 percent of total Russian exports to the U.S. in 2012, it said. President Barack Obama earlier this month announced his intent to remove Russia from the preference program, citing economic development (see 14050805). The inclusion of Russia in the program has generated debate over recent years, with some industry officials challenging Russian protection of intellectual property rights commitments. The preference program continues to face an uphill climb as lawmakers struggle to find a vehicle to advance trade legislation (see 14032429). The program expired on July 31, 2013 (see 13080110). The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative pushed for Myanmar and Laos to be included in the program prior to expiration (here), said CRS, but expiration prevented any administrative additions.
Russia export controls and sanctions
The use of export controls and sanctions on Russia has surged since the country's invasion of Crimea in 2014, and especially its invasion of Ukraine in in February 2022. Similar export controls and sanctions have been imposed by U.S. allies, including the EU, U.K. and Japan. The following is a listing of recent articles in Export Compliance Daily on export controls and sanctions imposed on Russia:
On May 20 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Commerce Department issued the preliminary results of its antidumping duty administrative review on solid fertilizer grade ammonium nitrate from Russia (A-821-811). The agency preliminarily calculated zero percent AD duty rates for JSC Acron and MCC EuroChem. If the agency's finding is continued in the final results, ammonium nitrate from these companies entered between April 2012 and March 2013 will not be assessed AD duties, and future entries from these companies will not be subject to an AD duty cash deposit requirements until further notice.
On May 19 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website May 16, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at http://adcvd.cbp.dhs.gov/adcvdweb.
On May 14 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
On May 12 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
Russia continues to impose trade-restrictive measures and refuses to provide comprehensive customs information in defiance of World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations, said U.S. Ambassador to the WTO, Michael Punke, at a WTO General Council meeting on May 12. “Russia has not responded to the follow-up questions raised in the February 2014 TRIPS Council meeting or the questions raised in the Import Licensing Committee,” said Punke. “Russia has not provided the full set of information on its customs union … and now Russia is moving the customs union into the Eurasian Union, with potentially broader implications for economic relations among those countries, but has done nothing to notify this organization.” The TRIPS agreement is a WTO pact on intellectual property rights.
Russian graduation from the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) may give some momentum for renewal of the program in general, though Congressional action remains uncertain, said Scott Miller, Scholl chair in international business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The change will not significantly impact bilateral trade or the value of the GSP program, said Miller. U.S. importers could have only saved between $7-8 million on duty-free Russian imports since GSP expiration on July 31, 2013, said Miller.
The Commerce Department made a preliminary affirmative antidumping determination that grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) from Russia (A-821-821) and Poland (A-455-804) is being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value. Due to a finding of "critical circumstances," the agency will impose retroactive AD duty cash requirements on entries of GOES from the Russia and Poland effective Feb. 11.