Multi-Industry Sign On Letter on Generalized System Preferences (GSP)

ASTA signed onto a coalition letter from multiple industries to President Biden and Vice President Harris in March 2022, imploring their early and persistent engagement in the impending contract negotiations between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), encouraging a timely and satisfactory resolution that advances the needs of both the workers and the ports in order to avoid further backups, delays, and higher costs.

On August 12, 2025, ASTA sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative asking that consideration be extended to agricultural commodities, such as spices, that cannot be grown in the United State as trade policy advances, including ongoing bilateral negotiations.