Trade Remedy Compliance in the United States

According to the International Trade Administration, as all types of United States enterprises “grow their exports in response to the National Export Initiative, it is crucial that foreign markets remain free and open to fairly traded U.S.-produced goods. In response to growing competition, foreign industries are more frequently seeking relief from unfairly priced or rapidly increasing imports via trade remedy (e.g. “antidumping” or “safeguard”) investigations conducted by the foreign government. These involve an extensive examination of an exporter’s sales and production records for evidence of any unfair trading and whether any such activity may have caused injury to the investigating country’s domestic producers.

The growth in worldwide trade remedy investigations focuses on industry sectors in which the United States has a large export presence, which means U.S. exporters are increasingly likely to find themselves subject to a trade remedy action. If ignored, antidumping and safeguard investigations can lead to substantial duties being imposed on the affected U.S. exports, and the potential loss of lucrative export markets.”

Trade Remedy Compliance Staff (TRCS)

Enforcement and Compliance’s Office of Policy, through its Trade Remedy Compliance Staff, has developed “a potent three-pronged customer-oriented approach of monitoring, outreach and advocacy to address potentially unfair application of trade remedies. Effectively using its combination of overseas officers and U.S.-based experts, TRCS analyzes the global use of trade remedy measures; alerts U.S. industry of pending foreign trade remedy actions; evaluates foreign countries’ trade remedy laws, policies and practices for consistency with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules; and maintains an extensive network of contacts with U.S. businesses, industry associations and foreign governments. This coordinated approach is designed to assemble as complete a picture as possible of foreign trade remedy regimes and, where there are problems, address these concerns with foreign governments directly, or at the WTO. This strategy is clearly appreciated by the trading community, as evidenced by the increasing number of U.S. companies and government partners seeking our advice and assistance on foreign trade remedy activities.”

U.S. Products Subject to Foreign Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Measures

The following are a list of countries that have cases filed against the United States. The information is based on data contained in Semi-Annual Reports filed with the World Trade Organization. Copies of those reports, as well as a respective country’s AD/CVD legislation, can be obtained from the WTO website at http://www.wto.org. Not all countries provide all possible information, and the information provided is in a constant state of flux.

Related Issues

Related issues:

• Foreign antidumping
• Foreign safeguard actions
• Trade remedy regimes worldwide
• Exportation
• Foreign trade remedy laws and regulations