EAPA

EAPA — the Enforce and Protect Act of 2015 — added section 517 to the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1517), creating an administrative process for CBP to investigate allegations of evasion of antidumping and countervailing duty orders. Procedures are at 19 CFR Part 165.

An EAPA investigation typically follows this sequence:

1. Allegation — An "interested party" (domestic producer, union, trade association, or wholesaler) submits an allegation that an importer is evading an AD/CVD order. The allegation must include specific facts supporting evasion.
2. Initiation — CBP has 15 business days to determine whether to initiate.
3. Interim measures — Within 90 days of initiation, CBP makes an "interim measures" determination. If reasonable suspicion of evasion is found, CBP suspends liquidation, imposes single-entry bonding, and requires cash deposits at the AD/CVD rate.
4. Final determination — Within 300 days (extendable to 360), CBP makes a final determination on whether evasion occurred. If affirmative, the entries are subject to AD/CVD and CBP can pursue collection and penalties.
5. De novo review — Parties can seek administrative review by CBP Regulations & Rulings and then judicial review at the Court of International Trade.

EAPA targets specific shipments by specific importers — distinguishing it from Commerce's anti-circumvention inquiries, which target systemic transshipment by foreign producers. The two regimes work in tandem: Commerce can find that an entire country's production is circumventing an order, while CBP can find that an individual importer is misrepresenting origin to evade.

Common EAPA scenarios involve transshipment through Southeast Asian countries, falsified mill certificates for steel and aluminum, and misclassification of finished goods as parts or vice versa.