**GAO-08-907T**                      Published: Jun 12, 2008. Publicly Released: Jun 12, 2008.                  

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## Highlights

U.S. trade preference programs promote economic development in poorer nations by providing duty-free export opportunities in the United States. The Generalized System of Preferences, Caribbean Basin Initiative, Andean Trade Preference Act, and African Growth and Opportunity Act unilaterally reduce U.S. tariffs for many products from over 130 countries. However, two of these programs expire partially or in full this year, and Congress is exploring options as it considers renewal. This testimony describes the growth in preference program imports since 1992, identifies policy trade-offs concerning these programs, and evaluates the overall U.S. approach to preference programs. The testimony is based on two recent studies on trade preference programs, issued in September 2007 and March 2008. For those studies, GAO analyzed trade data, reviewed trade literature and program documents, interviewed U.S. officials, and did fieldwork in six trade preference beneficiary countries.

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## Topics

International Affairs

Developing countriesEconomic analysisEconomic developmentEconomic growthEconomic policiesExportingFinancial managementForeign economic assistanceForeign trade agreementsImportingInternational economic relationsInternational tradeInternational trade regulationInternational trade restrictionProgram evaluationProgram managementTariffsTrade agreementsTrade policiesTrade regulationProgram goals or objectives