XN000022-1984-03-30 — Page 18

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U.S. PREFERENCE SCHEME DETAILS ANNOUNCED

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THE TRADE DEPARTMENT TODAY (FRIDAY) NOTIFIED THE TRADE OF DETAILS OF THE 1984 UNITED STATES GENERALISED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES (GSP) SCHEME ANNOUNCED BY THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE ON MARCH 27.

IN THE 1984 U.S. GSP SCHEME, 22 NEW ITEMS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE LIST OF OVER 3 000 PRODUCTS ELIGIBLE FOR U.S. DUTY-FREE TREATMENT. THREE PREVIOUSLY ELIGIBLE ITEMS (WATERBED MATTRESSES, WATERBED MATTRESS LINERS AND FISHING REELS) HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE ELIGIBLE LIST. THESE CHANGES APPLY TO ALL BENEFICIARIES INCLUDING HONG KONG. THE VALUE OF IMPORTS FROM HONG KONG IN THE THREE EXCLUDED ITEMS WAS US$1.3 M. IN 1983.

APART FROM THE ABOVE THREE ITEMS, HONG KONG HAS ALSO BEEN EXCLUDED FROM GSP DUTY-FREE TREATMENT IN 52 OTHER U.S. TARIFF SCHEDULE ITEMS. THE NEWLY EXCLUDED ITEMS INCLUDE FIXED-FOCUS CAMERAS, PORTABLE AIR-PURIFIERS, PLAYING CARDS, TOY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, SCALE MODEL RAILROAD EQUIPMENT, TELEPHONIC APPARATUS, CB RADIOS. IN 1983, HONG KONG WAS EXCLUDED IN 44 ITEMS.

ON THE OTHER HAND, HONG KONG IS REDESIGNATED ELIGIBLE FOR TWO ITEMS WHICH WERE EXCLUDED IN 1983. THESE ARE STUFFED TOY FIGURES AND SKINS FOR TOY FIGURES. THE VALUE OF U.S. IMPORTS FROM HONG KONG IN THESE TWO ITEMS WAS US$1.2 M IN 1983.

THESE CHANGES IN PRODUCT ELIGIBILITY FOR 1984 U.S. GSP WILL TAKE EFFECT ON MARCH 30, 1984.

THE VALUE OF U. S. IMPORTS FROM HONG KONG IN 1983 OF GSP ITEMS WAS US$3 036 M, OF WHICH US$1 934 M WAS EXCLUDED FROM GSP BENEFITS AND US$1 102 M WAS GRANTED DUTY-FREE TREATMENT. THE VALUE OF IMPORTS FROM HONG KONG IN THE 55 ITEMS INCLUDED NOW AMOUNTED TO US$ 2 011 M IN 1983.

A TRADE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN EXPLAINED THAT THE U.S. GSP PRODUCT LIST IS REVIEWED EVERY YEAR.

A PRODUCT MAY BE EXCLUDED FROM THE SCHEME UNDER EITHER A +COMPETITIVE NEED+ CRITERION OR THE +GRADUATION+ CRITERION, OR AS A RESULT OF PETITIONS MADE TO THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT BY UNITED STATES PRODUCERS. HE ADDED THAT HONG KONG DOES NOT AGREE WITH THE GRADUATION POLICY ADOPTED BY THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1981, BECAUSE EXCLUSION UNDER THIS POLICY IS NOT BASED ON OBJECTIVE CRITERIA AND COULD LEAD TO DISCRIMINATORY APPLICATION. HONG KONG HAS EXPRESSED THIS VIEW ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS TO THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, HE SAID.