Priority Trade Issue: Antidumping and Countervailing Duties
Gallagher Transport has observed heightened enforcement efforts by U.S. Customs and Border Protection regarding Antidumping and Countervailing Duties since 2016. This initiative aims to prevent circumvention of trade laws and ensure fair competition for U.S. companies.
- The U.S. CBP focuses on detecting and deterring violations of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties laws. They aim to liquidate duties accurately while supporting legitimate trade.
- When unfair pricing is identified, the Department of Commerce acts to protect U.S. businesses affected by these practices.
- Importers receiving compliance letters from CBP should carefully review the listed Informed Compliance Publications for guidance.
Antidumping and Countervailing Duties are trade measures imposed by governments to protect domestic industries from unfair competition. Antidumping duties target products sold at less than fair value, while countervailing duties address subsidies provided by foreign governments that distort market prices. These duties help level the playing field for domestic producers.
Since the summer of 2016 Gallagher Transport has seen an increase in enforcement’s efforts by the U.S. Customs and Border Protections (CBP) regarding Antidumping and Countervailing Duties.
According the U.S. CBP website, “The goal of this AD/CVD Priority Trade Issue is to detect and deter circumvention of the AD/CVD law, to liquidate final duties timely and accurately, while at the same time facilitating legitimate trade. When the Department of Commerce finds that imported merchandise was sold in the U.S. at an unfairly low or subsidized price, to level the playing field for U.S. companies injured by these unfair trade practices, CBP is responsible for collecting the Antidumping and Countervailing Duties (AD/CVD) in a timely manner.”
When the CBP is concerned that an importer may not be following import compliance, they send a letter titled “Distribution of Informed Compliance Publications and Other Informative Documents.” When an importer receives a letter, it is important that they review the ICPs listed. For further information about the details listed in the letter click here.