Trade Remedies: A Primer
Abstract
The United States and many of its trading partners use laws known as trade remedies to mitigate the adverse impact of various trade practices on domestic industries and workers. U.S. antidumping laws (19 U.S.C. 1673 et seq.) authorize the imposition of duties if (1) the International Trade Administration (ITA) of the Department of Commerce determines that foreign merchandise is being sold, or is likely to be sold in the United States at less than fair value, and (2) the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) determines that an industry in the United States is materially injured or threatened with material injury, or that the establishment of an industry is materially retarded, due to imports of that merchandise. A similar statute (19 U.S.C. 1671 et seq.) authorizes the imposition of countervailing duties if the ITA finds that the government of a country or any public entity has provided a subsidy on the manufacture, production, or export of the merchandise, and the ITC determines injury. WTO dispute settlement panels and Appellate Body rulings found that the United States is in violation of its WTO obligations with regard to two U.S. trade remedy laws: the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset (CDSOA, also known as the Byrd Amendment) and the Antidumping Act of 1916, which was subsequently repealed in P.L. 108-429. In the 109th Congress, S. 1932 (signed by the President on February 8, 2006, P.L. 109-171) repealed the CDSOA while allowing disbursements under the act to continue for merchandise entering the United States before October 1, 2007. This report explains, first, U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty statutes and investigations. Second, it describes safeguard statutes and investigative procedures. Third, it briefly presents trade-remedy related legislation in the 109th Congress. The appendix provides a chart outlining U.S. trade remedy statutes, major actors, and the effects of these laws.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 14, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA488272
Entities
People
- Vivian C. Jones
Organizations
- Library of Congress