COLOMBO, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka has urged the United States to renew a key trade concession which remains suspended since late last year, the Sri Lankan External Affairs Ministry said on Tuesday.

The Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States Jaliya Wickramasuriya, has in a letter to the US Senate, said that imports of products from Sri Lanka to the US have seen a drastic drop since the trade concession was suspended.

The US Generalized System of Preference, also known as GSP, is a trade concession given to several countries including Sri Lanka by the US government.

However the US GSP was not renewed by US legislators by the due date late last year resulting in its automatic suspension to all benefiting countries.

The ministry said on Tuesday that Ambassador Wickramasuriya as well as envoys from other US GSP benefiting countries including Fiji, Indonesia, Philippines and Kosovo, had signed the letter seeking for the urgent renewal of the trade concession.

The lack of GSP has caused Sri Lanka to lose top supplier positions in products in which it held strong market niches.

Overall US imports of construction vehicle tires increased by nearly 10 percent in the first seven months of 2011. However imports from top supplier Sri Lanka dropped by 28.5 percent as a result of the US GSP suspension, pushing the country down to the number two supplier position.

As a result China leapfrogged into the top supplier position with an import increase of more than 50 Percent, the letter sent to the US Senate said.

US imports of gold and silver jewelry from Sri Lanka have also taken a hit with gold jewelry imports to the US from Sri Lanka dropping 26.5 percent, the Sri Lankan External Affairs Ministry said.

Sri Lanka and other US GSP beneficiaries say the decrease in imports is causing job losses, economic declines in many industries and regions, and a drop in competitiveness for critically needed investment for the respective countries.