Letter to the editor: Congress must renew GSP program to protect jobs

More than 240,000 people here in Pennsylvania and more than 10 million people across the country have been infected with the coronavirus, with new infections continuing to surge in pockets of the country.

Millions of Americans have lost their jobs because of the earlier virus- related lockdowns, contributing to unemployment numbers that neared Great Depression levels. The last thing we should be doing during an unprecedented public health crisis is creating more barriers for American- based companies to generate economic growth.

But allowing trade preference programs like the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) to expire on Dec. 31 will do just that. In Pennsylvania, the chemical distribution industry that the National Association of Chemical Distributors represents is a major economic engine, employing more than 4,799 people and generating $462.70 million in tax revenue while delivering valuable products to every industry. In the chemical distribution industry alone, a lapse in GSP is estimated to cost the American economy over $55 million.

GSP is an important pillar to American commerce and is important to helping push our economic recovery forward. It’s time for Congress to reauthorize this vital program to help save good-paying Pennsylvania jobs so that hard-working families can remain healthy and able to make ends meet.

Eric R. Byer

Arlington, Va.