	Background

The U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) was established by the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 114-27 ). Expiration of the program in 2017 means that GSP renewal could be a legislative issue in the 115 th Congress. Agricultural products accounted for 15% of all imports under GSP, totaling $2.6 billion in 2015. Leading agricultural imports (based on value) include processed foods and food processing inputs; beverages and drinking waters; processed and fresh fruits and vegetables; sugar and sugar confectionery; olive oil; and miscellaneous food preparations and inputs for further processing. In 2015, five beneficiary countries ranked by import value—Thailand, Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Turkey—accounted for roughly two-thirds of the value of agricultural imports under the GSP program (see Table 2 ). Legislative and Administrative Changes

GSP was most recently extended until December 31, 2017 (Title II of P.L. Over the past decade, GSP renewal has been somewhat controversial. Some in Congress have continued to call for changes to the program, including tightening the program's requirements on products that can be imported under the program and limiting GSP benefits for certain eligible countries. Leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee have continued to express an interest in evaluating the effectiveness of U.S. trade preference programs, including GSP, and broader reform of these programs might be possible. In response to these concerns, both Congress and the previous Administrations have made changes to the program regarding product coverage (e.g., the type of products that can be imported under the program) and country eligibility (e.g., limiting GSP benefits to certain countries). In addition, the most recent GSP extension in 2015 broadly designated five new cotton products as eligible for GSP status (for least-developed beneficiary developing countries only), along with some other non-agricultural products ( Table 3 ). In September 2015, President Obama announced, among other things, that Seychelles, Uruguay, and Venezuela had become "high income" countries and were no longer eligible to receive GSP benefits, effective January 1, 2017. For more information and for a discussion of possible legislative options, see CRS Report RL33663, Generalized System of Preferences: Overview and Issues for Congress .
The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) provides duty-free tariff treatment for certain products from designated developing countries. Agricultural imports under GSP totaled $2.6 billion in 2015, nearly 15% of the value of all U.S. GSP imports. Leading agricultural imports (based on value) include processed foods and food processing inputs; beverages and drinking waters; processed and fresh fruits and vegetables; sugar and sugar confectionery; olive oil; and miscellaneous food preparations and inputs for further processing. The majority of these imports are from Thailand, Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Turkey, which combined account for roughly two-thirds of total agricultural GSP imports.
GSP was most recently extended until December 31, 2017 (Title II of P.L. 114-27). Expiration of the program in 2017 means that GSP renewal could be a legislative issue in the 115th Congress. Additional background information on such legislation is available in CRS Report RL33663, Generalized System of Preferences: Overview and Issues for Congress.
Over the past decade, GSP renewal has been somewhat controversial. Some in Congress have continued to call for changes to the program. Both Congress and the previous Administrations have made changes to the program regarding product coverage (e.g., the type of products that can be imported under the program) and country eligibility (e.g., limiting GSP benefits to certain countries). Both Congress and the previous Administrations have tightened and/or expanded the program's requirements on imports under certain circumstances. In recent years, a number of countries have had their GSP status revoked, including Argentina and Russia, among others. In September 2015, President Obama announced, among other things, that Seychelles, Uruguay, and Venezuela had become "high income" countries and were no longer eligible to receive GSP benefits, effective January 1, 2017. Also, as part of the most recent GSP extension, Congress designated a few new product categories as eligible for GSP status, including some cotton products (for least-developed beneficiaries only) and other non-agricultural products.
Congressional leaders have continued to express an interest in evaluating the effectiveness of U.S. trade preference programs, including GSP, and broader reform of these programs might be possible. Opinion within the U.S. agriculture industry is mixed, reflecting both support for and opposition to the current program.