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Trade and Industry Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
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Anti-dumping

Anti-dumping Actions by the EU and the US

The US' Anti-dumping Proceedings - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)1

Q.1 To whom do the US AD rates apply? Exporters? Importers? Or Manufacturers?

The US AD rates, in general, are exporter-specific, i.e., when an individual rate is assigned to an exporter, all subject merchandise exported by it are subject to the rate, regardless of the identity of the manufacturer(s). Importers must pay cash deposits of the duties on the subject merchandise at the ad valorem dumping margin rate (listed in the order) on the value of the imports for the individual foreign producer/exporter at the time of importation into the US. Manufacturers and producers cannot reimburse the importers' liability. The penalty for any reimbursement is the doubling of the duties.

To address evasion of AD duties in cases involving non-market economies (NMEs), the US DOC announced in April 2005 that it will assign exporter-producer combination rates instead of exporter-specific separate rates for AD cases involving NMEs. Under the new practice, an NME exporter qualifying for a separate rate is required to list all the suppliers of the merchandise it exported to the US during the period of investigation. An exporter-producer combination rate will be assigned and only apply to the merchandise produced by the suppliers that had supplied the subject merchandise to this exporter for export to the US during the period of investigation. Merchandise exported by this exporter but produced by another supplier will receive the NME-wide rate until the administrative review, when factors on this new supplier can be collected for assessing the final dumping duties. Despite this change in practice, the separate rates test still focuses exclusively on the independence of respondent's export activities from de jure and de facto government control.
 

Q.2 Why is participation and cooperation in US AD investigations important? What if the companies are not named in the petition?

Exporters of the subject merchandise, even those not named in the petition and who have not participated in the investigation, are also covered in the relevant AD order. In market economy cases, non-investigated exporters are automatically granted "all others" rate, which generally is a weighted average of the rates calculated for the investigated companies. In NME cases, however, exporters who fail to apply for and prove their eligibility for separate rate are subject to the NME-wide rate, which is typically very high.

Therefore, while it is not a US legal requirement for foreign manufacturers and exporters to participate and cooperate in AD investigations, it is in fact in their interests to do so. In some cases, individual rates granted to companies participated and cooperated in US AD investigations could be as low as zero. For those interested parties who are selected to participate in the investigations but who fail to provide the requested information in a timely and cooperative manner, the US authorities may use an inference which is adverse to the interest of that party in selecting from among the facts otherwise available, such as those contained in the petition, used in previous determinations, or other information on record. This may lead to the imposition of the highest dumping margin.
 

Q.3 Are Hong Kong companies automatically granted separate AD rates in US AD cases involving Mainland China?

The fact that a Hong Kong company owns or controls a Mainland facility that produces or exports the product or that a Hong Kong company exports a Mainland product does not alter the fact that the product will be considered as part of an AD investigation addressing goods from Mainland China. While the US DOC treats Hong Kong companies as market economy companies, US regulations still require Hong Kong companies in NME cases to make timely application for separate rates and examine their eligibility before granting them separate AD rates.

Q.4 What kind of documents do companies need to prepare for US AD investigations?

Good record-keeping is very important in AD investigations because a broad range of records and documents are required for responding to the DOC's questionnaires and in the on-site verifications at the final stage of investigations. In general, the records concerning the following areas may be required:

  • the legal structure and finance, including organization charts, business licences, financial reports and statements;
  • the US sales, including ledgers for sales, sales journals, customers' correspondence, management reports and sales contracts; and
  • the factors of production, including purchase orders, energy usage reports and bills of materials.

The above are just examples of documents required and is NOT an exhaustive list of documents to be examined in AD investigations. Companies are advised to appoint a working team responsible for ensuring that both hardcopies and softcopies of all the relevant records are properly maintained to meet the DOC's requirements.


Q.5 How do I know if my products are covered in a US AD investigation/order?

During the investigation stage of any US AD case, the scope of investigation is set out in the DOC's Federal Register notices announcing the initiation of investigation, the preliminary and the final dumping duty determination. Upon conclusion of the investigation, the products subject to AD duties are set out in the section "Scope of the Order" in the AD order. In addition, the scopes of US AD orders can also be found at the DOC's website: https://legacy.trade.gov/enforcement/operations/scope/index.asp.

While the written description of the scope of an AD investigation/order is dispositive, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the US (HTSUS) subheadings, which are also provided in the above-mentioned notices for convenience and customs purposes, may serve as good indicators as to whether your products are subject to a US AD investigation/order. You can check the HTSUS subheadings of your products at the International Trade Commission's website: https://hts.usitc.gov/current, or you can request binding rulings on merchandise classification from the US Customs and Border Protection .

1. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the above information, the Department cannot guarantee this to be so and will not be held liable for any reliance placed on the same. Please refer to the US Tariff Act of 1930 (https://enforcement.trade.gov/regs/title7.pdf), 19 CFR Ch. II Part 207 and 19 CFR Ch. III Part 351 of the US Code of Federal Regulations (https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2014-title19-vol3/pdf/CFR-2014-title19-vol3.pdf) or seek legal advice for clarification of the US antidumping proceedings whenever necessary.