Basic Definitions
Petitions
AD/CVD Investigation
Timeline
Administrative Reviews
Circumvention
April 2024 Updated Regulations
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Basic Definitions
Petitions
AD/CVD Investigation
Timeline
Administrative Reviews
Circumvention
April 2024 Updated Regulations
What is Dumping? Dumping occurs when a foreign producer sells a product in the United States at a price that is below that producer’s sales price in the country of origin (“home market”), or at a price that is lower than the cost of production. The difference between the price (or cost) in the foreign market and the price in the U.S. market is called the dumping margin. Unless the conduct falls within the legal definition of dumping as specified in U.S. law, a foreign producer selling imports at prices below those of American products is not necessarily dumping.
What is a Countervailable Subsidy? Foreign governments subsidize industries when they provide financial assistance to benefit the production, manufacture, or exportation of goods. Subsidies can take many forms, such as direct cash payments, credits against taxes, and loans at terms that do not reflect market conditions. The statute and regulations establish standards for determining when an unfair subsidy has been conferred. The amount of the subsidies that the foreign producer receives from its government is the basis for the rate by which the subsidy is offset, or “countervailed,” through higher import duties.
What is an AD/CVD suspension agreement? The exporters and producers or the foreign government agree to modify their behavior to eliminate dumping or subsidization or the injury caused thereby. Suspension agreements allow Commerce and interested parties to suspend AD or CVD investigations in favor of an agreement (undertaking) that provides for elimination of the unfair pricing or subsidies, or of the injury caused by the imports under investigation. Suspension agreements may be reached only in the investigation phase of an AD or CVD proceeding. Suspension agreements are very rare. There are currently only eight suspension agreements in effect. Under a suspension agreement, merchandise enters free of AD and CVD cash deposits and assessments, provided the parties meet the requirements of the agreement.
What are the requirements for filing an Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Petition? A petition is filed by a domestic interested party, including a manufacturer, trade association, or a union within the domestic industry producing the product which competes with the imports for which an investigation has been requested in the petition. The statute requires the petition to have sufficient support of the domestic industry. The statute also requires the petition to contain certain information, including evidence of injury to the domestic industry„ as well as evidence of dumping or unfair subsidization.
Antidumping and countervailing duty trade remedies against unfairly trade imports have been successfully pursued by a variety of domestic industries, including producers of steel, industrial equipment, computer chips, agricultural products, textiles, chemicals, and consumer products. Both Enforcement and Compliance and the International Trade Commission have staff available to assist domestic industries in deciding whether there is sufficient evidence to file a petition for antidumping or countervailing duty investigations. The staff may also assist eligible small businesses with the filing process.
How do I submit a petition? Petitions are filed simultaneously with the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission. Draft petitions should be shared with the Petition Counseling Office in Enforcement and Compliance’s Office of Policy. If you are interested in discussing a draft petition, please email us at Petition.Counseling@trade.gov
For even more questions, please visit the full FAQs list .
What is the role of the International Trade Commission? The International Trade Commission determines whether the domestic industry is suffering material injury, or threatened with material injury because of imports of the dumped or subsidized products. For further information on the International Trade Commission’s injury investigation, see http://www.usitc.gov .
What relief can result from an Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigation? If both Commerce and the International Trade Commission make affirmative final findings of dumping and injury, Commerce instructs U.S. Customs and Border Protection to assess duties against imports of that product into the United States. The duties are assessed as a percentage of the value of the imports and are equivalent to the dumping and subsidy margins, described above. For example, if Commerce finds a dumping margin of 35%, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will collect a 35% duty on the entered value of the product at the time of importation into the United States to offset the amount of dumping. Information on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection may be found at https://www.cbp.gov .
What role, if any, does politics play in AD and CVD proceedings? None. The AD/CVD law provides U.S. businesses and workers with a transparent and internationally-accepted mechanism to seek relief from the market-distorting effects caused by injurious dumping and unfair subsidization, and thus to have an opportunity to compete on a level playing field. Investigations are conducted in accordance with U.S. law, and the decision to initiate an investigation is based solely on the record evidence. The United States administers arguably the most open and transparent trade remedy system in the world, and Commerce will conduct these investigations in a fully open and transparent manner in accordance with the applicable law, regulations, and administrative practice. All Commerce decisions are based on information and argument contained in the official record of the proceedings, and these decisions are subject to potential review by U.S. courts and the World Trade Organization dispute settlement system.
How long does it take for Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Orders to be issued? If both the International Trade Commission and Enforcement and Compliance make affirmative preliminary determinations (within 190 days of initiation of the antidumping investigation, or 130 days for countervailing duty investigation) importers are required to post a bond or cash to cover an estimated amount for the duties which would be collected in the event that an AD or CVD order is issued upon the completion of the investigations. Typically, the final phases of the investigations by Enforcement and Compliance and the International Trade Commission are completed within 12 to 18 months of initiation.
Who can I contact at the Commerce Department if I have additional questions about an AD/CVD proceeding? The Enforcement and Compliance Communications Office serves as the contact point for any general inquiries on AD/CVD proceedings. If you have questions about a specific investigation, the Communications Office will ensure that you are connected the right team within E&C. Please contact the Communications Office at 202-482-0063.
What is the Timeline for AD/CVD Investigations?
Initiation: Once a petition is filed to both the Department of Commerce (DOC) and International Trade Commission (ITC), the DOC has 20 days to review and decide if it meets all the requirements. During these 20 days, the petitioner can also file comments on exactly which products should be investigated. Once the DOC decides that the petition meets the requirements, the investigation begins. For more detailed information about what happens after this stage of the investigation, visit our page that covers Initiation Next Steps and FAQs .
Preliminary Determinations: 45 days after the petition is filed, the ITC will make its first preliminary determination on whether the industry is being harmed. In an antidumping duty (AD) investigation, DOC’s preliminary determination will be 140 days from initiation, and in a countervailing duty (CVD) investigation, DOC will announce its determination 65 days from initiation. However, these deadlines may be extended. For more detailed information about what happens after this stage of the investigation, visit our page that covers Preliminary Determination Next Steps and FAQs .
Final Determinations: In an AD investigation, the DOC will make its final determination 215 days after the petition is initiated. In a CVD investigation, the DOC will make its final determination 75 days after the petition is initiated. If it affirmative, the ITC continues their investigation and make its determinations 45 days from the DOC’s announcement. However, these deadlines may be extended. If the ITC’s final determination is affirmative, the DOC will issue the order in 7 days.
At both the preliminary determination stage and the final determination stage, both the DOC and the ITC must reach affirmative determinations. If at either stage, one makes a negative determination, the investigation for that country is terminated. For more detailed information about what happens after this stage of the investigation, visit our page that covers Final Determination Next Steps and FAQs .
What is an administrative review (AR)? Once a year, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) may conduct an Administrative Review (AR) of an existing antidumping or countervailing duty order administered by Enforcement and Compliance. An AR is a process that determines the amount of antidumping or countervailing duties that need to be paid on the entries of a particular product subject to an antidumping or countervailing duty order entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption during a given period. An administrative review also establishes a new cash-deposit rate for future entries made by each of the companies reviewed and any other companies. Cash deposit rates calculated in administrative reviews apply to entries of subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date the final results of review are published in the Federal Register.
How long is an AR? The preliminary results of an administrative review must be signed within 245 days after the last day of the anniversary month, i.e., the month that the order went into effect, in which the review was requested. The final results must be signed within 120 days after the day on which the preliminary results of the review are published in the Federal Register.
The 245-day preliminary results deadline may be extended to 365 days and the 120-day final results deadline to 180 days (or 300 days if the preliminary results were not extended) if it is not practicable to complete the review within the un-extended deadlines. Commerce will announce an extension on the administrative record, available on Enforcement and Compliance’s Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS).
Below is a sample timeline of an administrative review:
*This date may be extended to 265 days.Federal Register Notice (86 FR 884) published on January 15, 2021.
Who can request an AR? Once a year after the order goes into effect, interested parties have an opportunity to request an administrative review. Parties that can request administrative reviews include domestic interested parties; certain foreign governments; most exporters and producers of merchandise covered by an order; and importers of merchandise covered by an order. These interested parties are defined in section 771(9) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.
How to request an AR? Interested parties must file their requests electronically in Enforcement and Compliance’s Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). A copy of each request must also be served on the petitioner and each exporter or producer specified in the request (Note: Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its requirements for serving documents containing business proprietary information, until further notice).
When do the new rates go into effect? Once the final results of the administrative review are completed, Commerce sends cash deposit and liquidation instructions to Customs and Border Protection. However, where a party properly sues Commerce on an administrative review and obtains an injunction against the liquidation of certain entries, Commerce will not send liquidation instructions to Customs and Border Protection. These cash deposit rates are published in the Federal Register and go into effect on the date of publication of the final results. In other words, the decisions from the final results of an administrative review are the only decisions that impact the collection of duties; decisions from the preliminary results of an administrative review do not have an immediate impact on the collection of duties.
Where can I find more information? For more information on a specific investigation, create an account and log into the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). From there, you can search by case number or bar code to access all the associated public documents.
What is circumvention? Circumvention is when merchandise avoids the discipline of an existing U.S. antidumping duty (AD) and/or countervailing duty (CVD) order. Under the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, circumvention may take the form of:
Merchandise that is completed or assembled in the United States or a third-party country from parts and components imported from the country subject to the existing AD/CVD order; or Merchandise that has been altered in for or appearance in minor respects; or Merchandise that is developed after an AD or CVD order has been issued (“later-developed”) that has the same general physical characteristics, expectations by the ultimate purchasers, use, channels of trade, and advertising, as merchandise subject to existing AD or CVD order. For products found to be circumventing an AD/CVD order, such products are included within the scope of the order and duties will be imposed on imports of the products.
How does circumvention impact AD/CVD orders? Prior to an inquiry and an affirmative determination, circumventing merchandise avoids the discipline of an AD/CVD order, entering the United States as non-subject merchandise. Accordingly, domestic industries, farmers, and their workers do not benefit from the full relief afforded to them under the U.S. trade remedy laws from the unfair and injurious trade practices of foreign exporters and governments.
What is the process for a circumvention inquiry? Commerce may conduct a circumvention inquiry at the request of an interested party or self-initiate a circumvention inquiry. Parties filing a circumvention inquiry request must also serve a copy of it on all persons on the Annual Inquiry Service List for the relevant, and (if applicable) companion AD/CVD order. After a party submits a properly filed circumvention inquiry request, Commerce must determine within 30 days, unless extended, whether to accept the request and whether the allegations and information contained in the circumvention request support initiation of a circumvention inquiry.
Once Commerce has initiated a circumvention inquiry, Commerce must issue its preliminary and final determinations within 150 and 300 days, unless extended, from the date of publication of the initiation notice in the Federal Register . For additional guidance on the procedures and rules that Commerce follows when conducting circumvention inquiries, refer to Commerce’s regulations at 19 CFR 351.226
What to do if you encounter circumvention? If you are interested in learning more about circumvention or are interested in the process for filing a request for a circumvention inquiry, contact the Trade Remedy Counseling and Initiations staff at petition.counseling@trade.gov.
