Myanmar should prep for US GSP

Myanmar's exporters ought to be preparing for the country’s inclusion into the US Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) list in the near future, said Marideth Sandler, CEO of Sandler Trade LLC.

The US imported some US$8 million in goods from Myanmar in the first half of 2013, of which some $400,000 would potentially be GSP-eligible, she said at a Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) seminar last week.

The GSP program allows some exports from Least Developed Countries into the United States duty-free.

Myanmar was one of the first nations to become eligible for US GSP benefits in 1976 but was suspended in 1989. However, reinstatement is currently being considered, she said.

Daw Khine Khine Nwe, joint secretary general of UMFCCI said Myanmar’s ascension into the program would increase trade links with the world’s largest economy.

“If we want to increase exports we need to study in advance [of receiving GSP benefits] what products they would like to import and export,” she said.

source: Myanmar Times

http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/8136-myanmar-should-prep-for-us-gsp.html