On Friday, June 20, 2008 the Federal Register published a Notice and solicitation of public comment on the initiation of a review to consider designating Vietnam as a beneficiary developing country (BCD) for purposes of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program.
According to the website of the Vietnam Trade Office in the USA, (FAQ – Understanding Vietnam and GSP):
- certain ceramics, porcelain or china
- import non-sensitive electronics (e.g. space heaters, loudspeakers, audiofrequency products)
- saddlery and harnesses
- insulated ignition wiring sets
- precious metal
- wooden tableware and statuettes
- pens and markers
- golf clubs and equipment
- gaskets, washers
- imitation jewelry
- basketwork, wickerwork, baskets, sacks, and bags
- flour, meal, starch
- inflatable balls
Also of interest, in applying the origin criteria, the Vietnam Trade Office FAQ states that:
Because Vietnam is a member of ASEAN, and the U.S. considers the GSP-eligible ASEAN countries as one country, the required 35 percent value added also can come in part from other ASEAN BDCs, namely Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, and shipment to the U.S. can be from one of those countries.
The Notice is on pages 35173-35174 of the Federal Register, Vol. 73, No. 120. To retrieve the page, go to http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/retrieve.html and type in the page number. Instructions are given for the submission of comments, as follows:
ADDRESSES: Submit comments by electronic mail (e-mail) to: FR0711@USTR.EOP.GOV. (Note: the digit before the number in the e-mail address is the number zero, not a letter.)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For assistance, contact Regina Teeter, USTR's GSP Office at 202–395–6971.