A Suspension Agreement is a negotiated agreement under 19 U.S.C. §§ 1671c (CVD) and 1673c (AD) that suspends an ongoing antidumping or countervailing duty investigation in exchange for commitments that eliminate either the dumping or subsidization itself or the resulting injurious effect on the domestic industry.
The three permitted types of AD suspension agreement:
- Cessation of exports — Foreign producers agree to stop exports of the subject merchandise to the U.S.
- Elimination of dumping — Foreign producers agree to revise prices to eliminate the dumping margin
- Quantitative restrictions with price minimums — Used only in "extraordinary circumstances," and only if foreign producers accounting for substantially all imports participate
CVD suspension agreements can take the form of foreign government commitments to eliminate the subsidy, eliminate the injurious effect through quantitative restrictions, or eliminate the subsidy in some other agreed manner.
Suspension agreements are administered by the Commerce Department and require both Commerce and USITC agreement before suspension. Once suspended, the investigation can be resumed if the agreement is violated.
Notable suspension agreements include the long-running U.S.-Mexico sugar agreements, U.S.-Russia uranium agreements, and the tomato suspension agreements with Mexico. Suspension agreements have been less common in recent years as the domestic industry has often preferred final orders to suspension deals.