In the letter, the lawmakers said that they have a strong desire to see GSP eligibility for India reinstated.
A
bipartisan group of 44 influential lawmakers has urged the Trump
administration to reinstate India's designation as a beneficiary
developing nation under the key GSP trade programme as part of a
potential trade deal between the two countries.
The
Trump administration terminated India's designation as a beneficiary
developing nation under the Generalized
System of Preferences (GSP) in June.
The
GSP is the largest and oldest US trade preference programme and is
designed to promote economic development by allowing duty-free entry
for thousands of products from designated beneficiary countries.
In
a letter to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the House
members suggest an "early harvest" approach that "would
ensure that long-sought market access gains for US industries are not
held up by negotiations over remaining issues".
US
President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet on
September 22 in Houston and the two sides hope to announce a
potential deal on longstanding trade issues, including GSP, a media
report said.
Led
by Congressmen Jim Himes and Ron Estes, the letter to Lighthizer has
been signed by 26 Democrats and 18 Republicans, showing the strong,
bipartisan support for reinstating GSP benefits for imports from
India.
"Companies
are telling Congress about the American costs - both in dollars and
jobs - of lost GSP eligibility for India," said Dan Anthony,
executive director of the Coalition for GSP on Tuesday.
"The
letter shows Congress' strong, bipartisan support for swift action to
reinstate GSP for India and to help constituents that depend on
two-way trade," he said.
While
GSP often is seen as a benefit to foreign countries, it is American
businesses and workers that have suffered most from its termination
to date.
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