The Department of Commerce is accepting comments through May 30 on alternatives to a current methodology used to determine instances of masked dumping. The DOC’s notice could be a signal that the Trump administration plans to reintroduce the practice of zeroing, which the DOC halted years ago after a World Trade Organization panel determined that it violated WTO rules.
The DOC states that it generally calculates dumping margins by one of two methods: (1) comparing the weighted average of the normal values to the weighted average of the export prices (or constructed export prices) for comparable merchandise (the average-to-average method), or (2) comparing the normal values of individual transactions to the export prices (or constructed export prices) of individual transactions for comparable merchandise (the transaction-to-transaction method).
However, when there is a pattern of export prices or constructed export prices for comparable merchandise that differ significantly among purchasers, regions, or periods of time, and where such differences cannot be taken into account using one of the above methods, the DOC may compare the weighted average of the normal values to the export price (or constructed export price) of individual transactions for comparable merchandise (the average-to-transaction method).
The DOC states that it has applied the “Cohen’s d” test as part of such differential pricing analyses for over a decade, but the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently held that it is unreasonable to do so when that test is applied to data sets that do not satisfy the statistical assumptions of normal distribution, equal variability, and sufficiently numerous data. While a mandate has not yet been issued from the CAFC, the DOC is nevertheless gathering input on possible alternatives to the Cohen’s d test for identifying when prices differ significantly among purchasers, regions, or periods of time.
Copyright © 2025 Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.; WorldTrade Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved.