Antidumping/Countervailing Duty (AD/CVD) enforcement is a priority for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). CBP works closely with industry partners to level the playing field for domestic manufacturers. One of the best examples of CBP’s role in trade are its strong partnerships and efforts with the U.S. steel industry and partner government agencies to enforce AD/CVD orders on steel products. CBP is actively enforcing 111 AD/CVD orders on steel products and looks to continue its work with the U.S. steel industry to prepare to enforce AD/CVD orders on steel products that result from the 42 new AD/CVD investigations that have been filed by the U.S. steel industry.
A CBP Officer inspecting potentially AD/CVD-violating steel at a U.S. port of entry.
In Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, CBP, in coordination with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), was able to successfully seize over $900,000 worth of steel products that violated AD/CVD laws and assess $45.5 million in penalties for AD/CVD violations on importers of steel products. In January 2016, an examination by CBP port personnel resulted in CBP identifying nearly $200,000 in AD/CVD violations. This inspection is just one of the many successes CBP has had in its ongoing efforts to facilitate the flow of legitimate trade into the country while also preventing bad actors from evading AD/CVD duties. Inspections like this one are the result of strong enforcement policies and education efforts through seminars with the industry. In FY 2015, CBP also conducted over 7,200 entry summary reviews of steel imports for AD/CVD issues, and identified violations with a value of over $970,000.
CBP’s AD/CVD enforcement efforts in the Steel Industry go beyond just conducting inspections and assessing imported goods for AD/CVD. The agency also partners with the steel industry to educate CBP personnel and steel industry members by developing seminars that explain how AD/CVD enforcement can best be implemented in the current trade environment. One way CBP does this is through the Base Metals Center of Excellence and Expertise (Center) located in Chicago that is dedicated to the steel industry. At the Base Metal Center, CBP’s industry experts work together as one unit to focus on outreach and enforcement for steel importations.
The other key component of CBP’s steel AD/CVD strategy is supporting bi-directional training seminars, in which CBP personnel and industry members share important information in a collaborative effort. In FY 2015, CBP conducted five AD/CVD seminars, which took place at key trade locations in California, Georgia, Illinois, New York, and Texas, to the members of the steel industry and supported five AC/CVD seminars for CBP personnel. These seminars were designed and successfully leveraged to give the participants the latest knowledge about how the steel industry operates and AD/CVD trade policy is typically enforced in the industry.
In FY 2016, CBP will conduct the following Steel Seminars in conjunction with the industry:
- Laredo, Texas (February 23-25)
- New Orleans (April 12-14)
- Philadelphia (May 17-19)
- Long Beach, California (July 19-21)
- Detroit (August 23-25)