US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said Tuesday she fully supports the resumption of the US Generalized System of Preferences to sustain trading collaboration between the US and the Philippines.
She said the US Congress is adding an environmental criterion to the GSP, one that the Philippines should comply with if it wants the preferential trade system to be reauthorized.
“I’m looking forward to our Congress reauthorizing GSP. I can’t predict when it will be reauthorized. I have expressed to partners in Congress of my support for the reauthorization of GSP program, in particular, my support for a GSP program that is updated with respect to its criteria,” she said in a briefing with local business reporters.
The US GSP expired on Dec. 31, 2020, but the Philippines remains optimistic that its petition would be heard. The Philippines was among the five biggest users of the US GSP program in 2020 together with Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil and Cambodia.