Monthly Archives: August 2014

Reminder: Last Day to Answer GSP Expiration Survey

Before leaving for the holiday weekend, please answer the GSP expiration impact survey if you haven’t already. It should only take a few minutes. We want the best report possible waiting when Congress returns to DC on September 8, which … Continue reading

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A Wholly Predictable (and Avoidable) Situation Unfolds in Slow Motion

On Friday we wrote about these being very tough times for many GSP importers. As we compile responses from our most recent survey, it’s painful to read about how lives have been hurt by GSP expiration. And why? At the … Continue reading

Posted in GSP, New York | 1 Comment

Very Tough Times for GSP Importers

We continue to receive responses to our survey on the impacts of GSP expiration after 1 year. To be blunt, they are not pretty. Here are a couple responses we heard this morning: One small business in Illinois laid off … Continue reading

Posted in Illinois, Minnesota, New York | Leave a comment

GSP Expiration Survey: Status Update

To date, we’ve had about 80 responses to our new expiration survey. That’s decent…but we need a whole lot more (especially since our last survey report had ~220 responses). So if you have not done so already, please take a … Continue reading

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Companies in 278 Congressional Districts Now Calling on Congress to Renew GSP

Yesterday, we added three new companies to the GSP supporter list: Aapico Forging in Stamford, Connecticut, Mutual Wheel Company in Moline, Illinois, and Alum-Tech Corp. in West Melbourne, Florida. Aapico Forging was the 8th company company headquartered in Connecticut’s 4th … Continue reading

Posted in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois | Leave a comment

GSP Expiration Impacts: Renewal Would Allow WA Company to Hire New Workers, Reward Existing Ones

TRInternational (TRI), based in Seattle, Washington, imports over 3 million pounds of eligible chemical products annually from Brazil, Thailand, and Turkey. These are raw materials that in turn are sold primarily to American manufacturers. As we wrote previously, TRI has made … Continue reading

Posted in Brazil, GSP, Thailand, Turkey, Washington | Leave a comment

GSP Expiration Impacts: CA Food Importer Delays Hires, Cancels Warehouse Investments

“We have delayed hiring 4 employees due to the expiration of the GSP. Also, our company was planning on investing in a warehouse expansion – about a $300,000 capital expenditure – that has now been cancelled.” The above quote came … Continue reading

Posted in California, Indonesia | Leave a comment

GSP Expiration Impacts: GA Distributor Missing Opportunities to Expand

Summit Specialty International in Alpharetta, Georgia imports pine interior doors from Brazil that are used for new residential construction. A small company with annual sales of approximately $3 million, the cost of GSP expiration is about 3 percent of annual … Continue reading

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GSP Expiration Impacts: Small NC Manufacturer Delays Needed Investments

Xpres LLC  imports ceramic drink ware products (e.g., coffee mugs) from Thailand under GSP and then provides custom imprinting at its factory in Winston Salem, North Carolina. As a result of GSP expiration, this small manufacturer has paid more than … Continue reading

Posted in North Carolina, Thailand | Leave a comment

GSP Expiration Impacts: “The viability of our 25 year old business is now in jeopardy”

“We could not buy new equipment and computers. We have been eating the bulk of the costs ourselves because we can not pass them on to clients. Our cost of capital financing costs have risen tremendously with our bank, and … Continue reading

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