§1671a — Title 19 Customs Duties | U.S. Code

Summary

The agency must open a countervailing duty investigation when it finds enough information to justify one. It also must open an investigation when an interested party files a petition on behalf of an industry and gives the evidence they reasonably have. The petitioner must give a copy to the U.S. International Trade Commission the same day. If the petition only claims a problem with official export-credit rules, the agency tells the Treasury, and Treasury must, within 5 days after the agency starts the investigation, check whether there was a problem and publish its estimate. The agency will send a public copy of the petition to the government of any exporting country named and offer consultations to countries in the Subsidies Agreement. Before deciding to start an investigation, the agency will not take unsolicited comments from people who are not listed types of interested parties, and it will keep draft petitions private. Within 20 days after a petition is filed, the agency must check the petition’s evidence and whether it really represents the industry. In rare cases where the agency needs to poll the industry, it may take up to 40 days. If both checks are positive, the agency starts an investigation. If not, the petition is dismissed and the petitioner is told why. To show industry support, petition backers must account for at least 25% of total domestic production and more than 50% of the production among those who took a position. The agency may ignore positions of domestic producers tied to foreign producers or of importers in certain cases. If support is unclear, the agency will poll or use sampling. Before the decision to start, interested parties can send comments, but the support decision cannot be changed after it is made. The agency must tell the Commission any decision right away and share needed information under confidentiality rules. If the agency thinks a subsidy may break the Subsidies Agreement, it can ask Customs for monthly data on entries until the case ends.

Title 19, §1671a

Customs Duties — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)A countervailing duty investigation shall be initiated whenever the administering authority determines, from information available to it, that a formal investigation is warranted into the question of whether the elements necessary for the imposition of a duty under section 1671(a) of this title exist.

(b)(1)A countervailing duty proceeding shall be initiated whenever an interested party described in subparagraph (C), (D), (E), (F), or (G) of section 1677(9) of this title files a petition with the administering authority, on behalf of an industry, which alleges the elements necessary for the imposition of the duty imposed by section 1671(a) of this title, and which is accompanied by information reasonably available to the petitioner supporting those allegations. The petition may be amended at such time, and upon such conditions, as the administering authority and the Commission may permit.

(2)The petitioner shall file a copy of the petition with the Commission on the same day as it is filed with the administering authority.

(3)If the sole basis of a petition filed under paragraph (1) is the derogation of an international undertaking on official export credits, the Administering Authority shall immediately notify the Secretary of the Treasury who shall, in consultation with the Administering Authority, within 5 days after the date on which the administering authority initiates an investigation under subsection (c), determine the existence and estimated value of the derogation, if any, and shall publish such determination in the Federal Register.

(4)(A)Upon receipt of a petition filed under paragraph (1), the administering authority shall—

(i)notify the government of any exporting country named in the petition by delivering a public version of the petition to an appropriate representative of such country; and

(ii)provide the government of any exporting country named in the petition that is a Subsidies Agreement country an opportunity for consultations with respect to the petition.

(B)The administering authority shall not accept any unsolicited oral or written communication from any person other than an interested party described in section 1677(9)(C), (D), (E), (F), or (G) of this title before the administering authority makes its decision whether to initiate an investigation, except as provided in subparagraph (A)(ii) and subsection (c)(4)(D), and except for inquiries regarding the status of the administering authority’s consideration of the petition.

(C)The administering authority and the Commission shall not disclose information with regard to any draft petition submitted for review and comment before it is filed under paragraph (1).

(c)(1)(A)Except as provided in subparagraph (B), within 20 days after the date on which a petition is filed under subsection (b), the administering authority shall—

(i)after examining, on the basis of sources readily available to the administering authority, the accuracy and adequacy of the evidence provided in the petition, determine whether the petition alleges the elements necessary for the imposition of a duty under section 1671(a) of this title and contains information reasonably available to the petitioner supporting the allegations, and

(ii)determine if the petition has been filed by or on behalf of the industry.

(B)In any case in which the administering authority is required to poll or otherwise determine support for the petition by the industry under paragraph (4)(D), the administering authority may, in exceptional circumstances, apply subparagraph (A) by substituting “a maximum of 40 days” for “20 days”.

(C)If a petition is filed under this section with respect to merchandise that was the subject merchandise of—

(i)a countervailing duty order that was revoked under section 1675(d) of this title in the 24 months preceding the date the petition is filed, or

(ii)a suspended investigation that was terminated under section 1675(d) of this title in the 24 months preceding the date the petition is filed,

(2)If the determinations under clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (1)(A) are affirmative, the administering authority shall initiate an investigation to determine whether a countervailable subsidy is being provided with respect to the subject merchandise.

(3)If the determination under clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph (1)(A) is negative, the administering authority shall dismiss the petition, terminate the proceeding, and notify the petitioner in writing of the reasons for the determination.

(4)(A)For purposes of this subsection, the administering authority shall determine that the petition has been filed by or on behalf of the industry, if—

(i)the domestic producers or workers who support the petition account for at least 25 percent of the total production of the domestic like product, and

(ii)the domestic producers or workers who support the petition account for more than 50 percent of the production of the domestic like product produced by that portion of the industry expressing support for or opposition to the petition.

(B)(i)In determining industry support under subparagraph (A), the administering authority shall disregard the position of domestic producers who oppose the petition, if such producers are related to foreign producers, as defined in section 1677(4)(B)(ii) of this title, unless such domestic producers demonstrate that their interests as domestic producers would be adversely affected by the imposition of a countervailing duty order.

(ii)The administering authority may disregard the position of domestic producers of a domestic like product who are importers of the subject merchandise.

(C)If the petition alleges that the industry is a regional industry, the administering authority shall determine whether the petition has been filed by or on behalf of the industry by applying subparagraph (A) on the basis of production in the region.

(D)If the petition does not establish support of domestic producers or workers accounting for more than 50 percent of the total production of the domestic like product, the administering authority shall—

(i)poll the industry or rely on other information in order to determine if there is support for the petition as required by subparagraph (A), or

(ii)if there is a large number of producers in the industry, the administering authority may determine industry support for the petition by using any statistically valid sampling method to poll the industry.

(E)Before the administering authority makes a determination with respect to initiating an investigation, any person who would qualify as an interested party under section 1677(9) of this title if an investigation were initiated, may submit comments or information on the issue of industry support. After the administering authority makes a determination with respect to initiating an investigation, the determination regarding industry support shall not be reconsidered.

(5)For purposes of this subsection, the term “domestic producers or workers” means those interested parties who are eligible to file a petition under subsection (b)(1).

(d)The administering authority shall—

(1)notify the Commission immediately of any determination it makes under subsection (a) or (c) of this section, and

(2)if the determination is affirmative, make available to the Commission such information as it may have relating to the matter under investigation, under such procedures as the administering authority and the Commission may establish to prevent disclosure, other than with the consent of the party providing it or under protective order, of any information to which confidential treatment has been given by the administering authority.

(e)If, at any time after the initiation of an investigation under this part, the administering authority finds a reasonable basis to suspect that the alleged countervailable subsidy is inconsistent with the Subsidies Agreement, the administering authority may request the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to compile information on an expedited basis regarding entries of the subject merchandise. Upon receiving such request, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall collect information regarding the volume and value of entries of the subject merchandise and shall transmit such information to the administering authority at such times as the administering authority shall direct (at least once every 30 days), until a final determination is made under section 1671d(a) of this title, the investigation is terminated, or the administering authority withdraws the request.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1996—Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 104–295 substituted “(b)(1)” for “(b)(1)(A)”. 1994—Subsecs. (a), (b)(1). Pub. L. 103–465, § 233(a)(6)(A)(i), (ii), substituted “initiated” for “commenced”. Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 103–465, §§ 211(a)(1), 212(b)(1)(E), substituted “paragraph (1)” for “subsection (b)(1) of this section” and “5 days after the date on which the administering authority initiates an investigation under subsection (c),” for “twenty days”. Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 103–465, § 211(a)(2), added par. (4). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103–465, § 212(a)(1), amended heading and text of subsec. (c) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “Within 20 days after the date on which a petition is filed under subsection (b) of this section, the administering authority shall— “(1) determine whether the petition alleges the elements necessary for the imposition of a duty under section 1671(a) of this title and contains information reasonably available to the petitioner supporting the allegations, “(2) if the determination is affirmative, commence an investigation to determine whether a subsidy is being provided with respect to the class or kind of merchandise described in the petition, and provide for the publication of notice of the determination to commence an investigation in the Federal Register, and “(3) if the determination is negative, dismiss the petition, terminate the proceeding, notify the petitioner in writing of the reasons for the determination, and provide for the publication of notice of the determination in the Federal Register.” Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 103–465, § 270(a)(1)(A), (d), substituted “countervailable subsidy” for “subsidy” and “Subsidies Agreement” for “Agreement”. Pub. L. 103–465, § 233(a)(5)(B), substituted “subject merchandise” for “class or kind of merchandise that is the subject of the investigation” in two places. 1988—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 100–418, § 1326(d)(1), substituted “(F), or (G)” for “or (F)”. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 100–418, § 1324(a)(1), added subsec. (e). 1986—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 99–514 inserted reference to subpar. (F) of section 1677(9) of this title. 1983—Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 98–181 added par. (3).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

“Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection” substituted for “Commissioner of Customs” in two places in subsec. (e) on authority of section 802(d)(2) of Pub. L. 114–125, set out as a note under section 211 of Title 6, Domestic Security.

Effective Date

of 1994 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 103–465 effective, except as otherwise provided, on the date on which the WTO Agreement enters into force with respect to the United States (Jan. 1, 1995), and applicable with respect to investigations, reviews, and inquiries initiated and petitions filed under specified provisions of this chapter after such date, see section 291 of Pub. L. 103–465, set out as a note under section 1671 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1988 AmendmentAmendment by section 1324(a)(1) of Pub. L. 100–418 applicable with respect to investigations initiated after Aug. 23, 1988, and amendment by section 1326(d)(1) of Pub. L. 100–418 applicable with respect to investigations initiated after Aug. 23, 1988, and to reviews initiated under section 1673e(c) or 1675 of this title after Aug. 23, 1988, see section 1337(b), (c) of Pub. L. 100–418, set out as a note under section 1671 of this title.

Transfer of Functions

For

Transfer of Functions

, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the United States Customs Service of the Department of the Treasury, including functions of the Secretary of the Treasury relating thereto, to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see section 203(1), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6. For establishment of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the Department of Homeland Security, treated as if included in Pub. L. 107–296 as of Nov. 25, 2002, see section 211 of Title 6, as amended generally by Pub. L. 114–125, and section 802(b) of Pub. L. 114–125, set out as a note under section 211 of Title 6. Plan

Amendments

Not Required Until January 1, 1989For provisions directing that if any

Amendments

made by subtitle A or subtitle C of title XI [§§ 1101–1147 and 1171–1177] or title XVIII [§§ 1801–1899A] of Pub. L. 99–514 require an amendment to any plan, such plan amendment shall not be required to be made before the first plan year beginning on or after Jan. 1, 1989, see section 1140 of Pub. L. 99–514, as amended, set out as a note under section 401 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.

§1671a Procedures for initiating a countervailing duty investigation

Summary

Title 19, §1671a

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Effective Date

Effective Date

Transfer of Functions

Transfer of Functions

Amendments

Amendments

Citations & Metadata