1. What are anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders?

If a U.S. industry believes that it is being injured by unfair competition through dumping or subsidization of a foreign product, it may request the imposition of antidumping or countervailing duties by filing a petition with both the Department of Commerce and the United States International Trade Commission. The Department of Commerce investigates foreign producers and governments to determine whether dumping or subsidization has occurred and calculates the amount of dumping or subsidies. The International Trade Commission determines whether such dumping or subsidization has caused (or threatens to cause) material injury.

If both Commerce and the International Trade Commission make affirmative findings of dumping and injury, Commerce instructs U.S. Customs and Border Protection to assess duties against imports of that product into the United States.

For more information, please visit: trade.gov/enforcement/operations/

2. How many anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders are in place on steel products?

As of April 19, 2017, Commerce has 152 antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders in place on steel from 32 countries. Twenty-eight of the 152 orders (18%) are on steel products from China – 16 AD and 12 CVD. The steel orders represent almost 40 percent of all AD/CVD orders in place. There are also 25 investigations underway for steel products, 16 in which Commerce has yet to issue final determinations and 9 investigations (on cut-to-length plate) for which Commerce has issued final determinations and are waiting for final determinations from the International Trade Commission.

3. Given the large number of orders, aren’t all steel products already covered?

Given the large number of countries from which the United States imports steel and the myriad different products involved, there are still steel products from some countries which are not subject to orders. Further, some producers who are subject to orders have become adept at evading the duties.

4. Why are the AD and CVD orders not sufficient to protect the steel industry?

Antidumping and countervailing duty actions can address specific instances of unfairly traded steel products. While these measures have reduced the harm caused by unfairly traded imports for the specific steel products for which U.S. industry has sought relief, because of their limited scope, antidumping and countervailing duty remedies are not able to resolve the broader structural economic harm to the U.S. steel industry caused by massive global overcapacity and unfair foreign competition.