§1677j Prevention of circumvention of antidumping and countervailing duty orders

Summary

Stops companies from dodging U.S. antidumping or countervailing duty orders by doing only small finishing work in the United States or in another country. If goods sold in the U.S. are the same kind as goods already covered by an antidumping or countervailing order, and they are assembled or finished in the U.S. from parts made in the foreign country that is covered, the goods can be treated as covered if the U.S. work is minor and the foreign parts make up a big part of the product’s value. The same idea applies when goods are finished in a different foreign country before being imported into the U.S. When deciding if the finishing is “minor,” the agency will look at the investment and research done, the type of production, how big the production facilities are, and whether the U.S. or foreign processing adds only a small share of the product’s value. To decide whether to include the parts or finished goods in an order, the agency will consider trade patterns, whether the makers are related companies, and whether imports of those parts rose after the original investigation. A new product developed after an investigation can still fall under an existing order if it shares the earlier product’s general look, buyer expectations, use, sales channels, and advertising or display. A product cannot be excluded just because it has a different tariff code or extra functions unless those new functions are the main use and their cost is more than a significant part of total production cost. The U.S. International Trade Commission may ask to consult about including goods; the agency must finish that consultation within 15 days of the request, and the Commission can give written advice within 60 days if it raises a serious injury issue. The agency should try to complete these circumvention decisions within 300 days after starting the inquiry.