Authors: Lydia Blois, Greg Landry, and Ben Bedard
On Monday, September 20, 2021, the United States of America’s (“US”) Department of Commerce (“DOC”) published modifications to its existing antidumping duty (“AD”) and countervailing duty (“CVD”) regulations. The DOC has stated that the modified regulations will improve the current departmental practices by establishing structure and providing clarity, especially in the area of circumvention and scope proceedings.
These amendments apply to various aspects of AD/CVD proceedings, including:
- Standalone rules governing circumvention inquiries and determinations;
- Rules for the DOC to assist US Customs and Border Protection in combating duty evasion;
- Rules to prevent abuse of new shipper reviews;
- New rules governing the DOC’s request for certifications by importers, exporters, and other interested parties;
- Rules updating the procedures and standards for scope inquiries and rulings; and
- Revised timeline for submitting comments pertaining to industry support for petitions.[1]
These modifications standardize and codify many practices that the DOC was previously engaging in, including requiring certifications, and circumvention and scope investigations and determinations.
The amendments will come into effect partially on October 20, 2021, and the rest on November 4, 2021.[2]
Canadian companies that export goods to the US should be aware of these new provisions. These modified regulations could also serve as a guide for future regulatory changes to the Canadian trade system.
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about anti-dumping/countervailing duty proceedings, please contact the authors of this article.
[1] These are known as complaints in Canada.
[2] Regulations To Improve Administration and Enforcement of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Laws, 86 FR 52300, September 20, 2021.