U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it is working to both improve compliance with, and tighten its enforcement of, antidumping and countervailing duty measures.
In a recent report to its Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee, CBP said that as of Nov. 9 it was enforcing 661 AD/CV duty orders, a number that has more than doubled since fiscal year 2016. CBP said it strives to be as transparent on its enforcement of these orders as disclosure laws allow but emphasized its commitment to enforcing AD/CV laws and penalizing those that evade them.
In particular, AD/CV evasion continues to be a concern and the agency uses a wide range of assets to target this practice, including import trade trend and valuation analysis, targeted reviews and audits, lab testing, and special operations. These efforts aid in CBP’s enforcement of the Enforce and Protect Act, which allows any interested party (including competing importers and federal government agencies) to submit allegations that AD/CV duties are being evaded; e.g., by misrepresenting the goods’ true country of origin, submitting false or incorrect shipping and entry documentation, or misreporting the goods’ physical characteristics. CBP has broad authority to investigate these claims and can impose initial remedial measures that can interrupt a supply chain in as little as 90 days. Any final determination of evasion may be met with not only AD/CV duties but also civil or criminal investigations.
At the same time, CBP is also working to facilitate legitimate AD/CV imports and improve importer compliance with AD/CV measures. For example, CBP is collaborating with COAC’s AD/CV Working Group to (1) obtain input on draft trade guidance on best practices for filing manufacturer and exporter information on AD/CV entries and (2) test automation to inform customs brokers about potential errors in AD/CV entries. CBP also engages with this working group to improve the transparency of its AD/CV enforcement and processing, solicit comments on proposed changes to its AD/CV policies, and discuss issues related to its enforcement of trade
remedies under Sections 201, 232, and 301.
For more information on AD/CV issues, please contact attorney Kristen Smith at (202) 730-4965 or via email.
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