An Antidumping Duty (AD) is a remedial duty imposed on imports that are being sold in the United States at less than fair value — that is, at a price lower than the producer charges in its home market or below its cost of production. The legal framework is Title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. §§ 1671–1677), implemented in 19 CFR Part 351.
Antidumping cases involve two agencies working in parallel:
- The Commerce Department's International Trade Administration calculates the dumping margin — the percentage by which the U.S. price is below "normal value"
- The USITC determines whether the dumping causes or threatens material injury to the domestic industry
A duty is imposed only if both agencies make affirmative findings. AD duties are typically expressed as a percentage of the entered customs value and are assessed in addition to the underlying ad valorem rate and any Section 301 or Section 232 duties.
Importers of AD-subject merchandise post cash deposits at the rate in effect at entry. Final assessment occurs after an annual administrative review, which can result in additional duties owed or refunds. AD orders remain in effect indefinitely unless revoked, with mandatory sunset reviews every five years.
The U.S. maintains roughly 700 active AD orders, the largest number of any country in the WTO system.