President Barack Obama has signed two important trade measures into law – the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 and Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (TPA-2015).
Both bills, passed by Congress last week, are key legislations that could help American business.
Among the most vociferous supporters of the TPA and the Trade Preference Law, is the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) which welcomed the signing of the two bills into law. It said that with the focus now turning toward the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, it is hopeful that the government will takes steps that can benefit AAFA’s members from what would be the largest free trade agreement.
“With TPA passed, the free trade agreements currently being negotiated can be completed. These trade agreements have the potential to develop new markets for US branded clothes and shoes,“ AAFA president and CEO Juanita Duggan said in a statement.
“We are especially pleased to see the preferences legislation enacted into law. Even more immediately, we can now begin a process that will enable companies to take advantage of the retroactive renewal of the GSP programme – saving companies millions of dollars in duties already paid, and ensuring that new tariff costs won’t be incurred,” she said.
Trade Promotion Authority enables the completion of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), the free trade agreement being negotiated with 11 other countries in the Pacific Rim. These 12 countries represent 39 per cent of the world economy.
The trade preferences law renews the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) for ten years, extends the Haiti HOPE/HELP trade program until 2025, and retroactively renews the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, while updating it to remove an exclusion on travel goods. The law also makes important clarifications to the tariff classifications for protective active footwear and performance outerwear.
