Midnight of December 31st, 2017 isn’t just the end of the year, it is also when the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) is set to expire. The products once eligible for being duty free under special program indicators “A”, “A+”, and “A*” will now be paying normal duty rates when imported. While CBP still requests that GSP eligible items are identified, they will remain dutiable until further notice.

That doesn’t mean GSP won’t be back! This program has been around since 1976 and will likely be reinstated in the future. The current placement of GSP began in July of 2015 after a two-year window with no GSP. In that time, the countries and products eligible for GSP are reevaluated so there is a possibility that your current country of origin may no longer qualify.

The New Year isn’t looking so bad! In the past, CBP has implemented a retroactive program that will refund duties paid on GSP-eligible tariffs. Entries imported after December 31st with any of the 5,000 GSP-eligible tariffs will be flagged in the event the program is brought back in the future.