Under the antidumping law, offsetting duties are imposed on imported merchandise when the Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that the merchandise is being dumped (sold at "less than fair value" (LTFV)) and the USITC determines that the imports are causing or threatening material injury to a U.S. industry, or materially retarding the establishment of a U.S. industry. The antidumping law's provisions are incorporated in Title VII of the 1930 Tariff Act and have been substantially amended by the l979 Trade Act, the 1984 Trade Act, the 1988 Trade Act, and the 1994 Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA).
An antidumping investigation typically starts when a U.S. industry, or a representative filing on its behalf, submits a petition alleging injurious dumping. If Commerce decides the petition contains sufficient evidence of injurious dumping, it will initiate an antidumping investigation. Commerce may also initiate an investigation on its own motion.
After initiation, the USITC decides, within 45 days of the filing of the petition, whether there is a "reasonable indication" that imports cause or threaten material injury to a domestic industry, or materially retard an industry's establishment. If this preliminary determination by the USITC is affirmative, the focus of the case shifts back to Commerce for preliminary and final inquiries into the alleged LTFV sales into the U.S. market. If Commerce's preliminary determination is affirmative, Commerce will direct U.S. Customs to suspend liquidation of entries and require importers to post a bond equal to the estimated weighted average dumping margin.
If Commerce's final determination of LTFV sales is negative, the investigation is terminated. If affirmative, the USITC makes a final determination of material injury. If the USITC determines that LTFV imports cause or threaten material injury or materially retard an industry's establishment, an antidumping order is issued. If the USITC's final injury determination is negative, the investigation is terminated and the Customs bonds released.
Upon request of an interested party, Commerce conducts annual reviews of dumping margins and subsidy rates pursuant to section 751 of the Tariff Act of 1930. Section 751 also provides for Commerce and USITC review in cases of changed circumstances and periodic review in conformity with the five-year "sunset" provisions of the Uruguay Round Antidumping Agreement.
Most antidumping determinations may be appealed to the U.S. Court of International Trade, with further judicial review possible in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. For certain cases involving Canadian or Mexican merchandise, appeal may be made to a binational panel established under the terms of the NAFTA.
The numbers of antidumping petitions filed in and since 1986 are as follows: 65 in 1986; 15 in 1987; 78 in 1988; 23 in 1989; 28 in 1990; 67 in 1991, 105 in 1992; 42 in 1993; 41 in 1994; and 16 in 1995. The numbers of antidumping orders (not including suspension agreements) imposed in and since 1986 are: 21 in 1986; 38 in 1987; 8 in 1988; 36 in 1989; 8 in 1990; 14 in 1991; 11 in 1992; 39 in 1993; 17 in 1994; and 23 in 1995.
