On October 25, 2019, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced changes to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) eligibility for Thailand and Ukraine.

The USTR is revoking GSP eligibility on one third of Thailand’s GSP trade, citing Thailand’s lack in taking appropriate measures on worker rights issues as identified in a petition from the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations from 2015.  The products being excluded from eligibility totaled $4.4 billion in 2018, according to the USTR’s announcement.  These will be removed from eligibility effective April 25, 2020.

The USTR is reinstating GSP eligibility on one third of the previously revoked products list from Ukraine.  These were suspended over concerns about the protection of intellectual property rights, and the partial reinstatement is a result of new legislation providing a framework to address the concerns.  These products will be restored to eligibility effective October 30, 2019.

The USTR also announced new GSP eligibility reviews for South Africa and Azerbaijan.  Reviews were closed for Bolivia, Iraq, and Uzbekistan with no change in eligibility.

The USTR announcement can be found here:
https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2019/october/ustr-announces-gsp-enforcement#

The list of products from Thailand to be excluded from GSP eligibility can be found here:
https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/gsp/Products_to_be_removed_from_GSP_eligibility_for_Thailand.pdf

The list of products from Ukraine to be restored to GSP eligibility can be found here:
https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/gsp/Products_to_be_restored_to_GSP_eligibility_for_Ukraine.pdf