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HR 6537 112th Congress House

Generalized System of Preferences Improvement Act

Official title: To amend the Trade Act of 1974 to make improvements to the Generalized System of Preferences, and for other purposes.

Introduced: September 21, 2012 See on congress.gov
Foreign Trade and International Finance Agricultural tradeAnimal and plant healthCongressional oversightFood supply, safety, and labeling
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Normal trade relations, most-favored-nation treatmentTrade agreements and negotiationsTrade restrictions
This bill died when the 112th Congress ended
It never became law before the 112th Congress (2011–2012) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Sep 21, 2012
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Sep 21, 2012
Introduced in House
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 Latest action September 21, 2012

Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Generalized System of Preferences Improvement Act - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to revise the prohibition against the President's designation of a beneficiary developing country for purposes of duty-free treatment of its products under the generalized system of preferences.

Prohibits the President from designating a country a beneficiary developing country if it: (1) enters into an agreement to afford preferential treatment to the products of a developed country other than the United States, unless the President certifies to Congress that it is in the U.S. national interests to make such designation; and (2) improperly uses sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, or other non-tariff trade barriers in a manner to negatively affect trade between the country and the United States.

Adds as one of the factors the President must take into account in determining whether to designate a country as a beneficiary developing country the extent, if any, to which such country adopts and follows international sanitary or phytosanitary standards and provides scientific justifications for deviations from such standards.

Requires the President to report annually to Congress on the status of market access within each covered beneficiary developing country, including findings with respect to whether or not it has adopted and followed international sanitary and phytosanitary standards and provides scientific justifications for any deviations from such standards.

 Related & companion bills 1
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 6537: Generalized System of Preferences Improvement Act. 112th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/112-HR-6537/
MLA
"H.R. 6537: Generalized System of Preferences Improvement Act." 112th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/112-HR-6537/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 6537, 112th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/112-HR-6537/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 6537: Generalized System of Preferences Improvement Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/112-HR-6537/)
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