Safeguarding American Industries and Jobs against Unfair Trade

  S u m m a r y   o f   I m p o r t   A d m i n i s t r a t i o n   P r o g r a m s   a n d   O f f i c e s
  Administrative Protective Orders (APO) and Dockets Unit  
      The APO/Dockets Unit administers administrative protective orders ("APOs") in antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings ("AD/CVD") and provides guidance to the treatment of business proprietary information under the terms of the APO. The APO is the mechanism under which the Department regulates and insures the security of proprietary information released to APO authorized representatives involved in AD/CVD proceedings.
    The APO/Dockets Unit officially receives all documents filed with the Import Administration in AD/CVD proceedings. The APO/Dockets Unit is located in Room 1870 of the Herbert C. Hoover Building and is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on business days."

  Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations  
    Import Administration's Operations Unit is responsible for enforcing the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) laws through the conduct of AD and CVD investigations and reviews (including administrative, changed circumstance, sunset and new shipper reviews). This Unit, which is headed by the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations, is comprised of nine offices, each of which is staffed by a cadre of analysts who are tasked with conducting comprehensive analyses and making recommendations to the Assistant Secretary for Import Administration (IA). Two of those offices work exclusively on cases involving China and other non-market economy countries.
    AD proceedings focus on whether foreign producers/exporters are selling their merchandise in the United States at less than fair value. CVD proceedings focus on whether foreign producers/exporters are benefitting from subsidies provided by their governments. Operations also supports negotiations regarding possible suspension of AD/CVD investigations, and coordinates with the International Trade Commission on matters pertaining to administration of AD/CVD investigations. In addition, the Operations' Customs Unit serves as the IA liaison with the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection Agency and is responsible for ensuring that the results of the AD and CVD proceedings are communicated to CBP for implementation.

  Office of China/ Non-Market Economy (NME) Compliance  
    The Office of China/NME Compliance is a specialized AD/CVD enforcement office that is dedicated exclusively to cases involving China and other non-market economy (NME) countries. The Office was established pursuant to a congressional recommendation (H.R. 108-221, 2004) and became legally operational on August 9, 2004.
    This office specializes in enforcing the U.S. unfair trade laws with regard to imports from China and other NME countries. Enforcement of such trade laws ensures a level playing field for U.S. manufacturers, in particular small and medium enterprises, when competing against imports from China and other NME countries. Through this specialized and focused office, IA is cultivating the expertise necessary to address the unique issues that arise in NME cases.

  Central Records Unit / Public File Room  
      The Central Records Unit (CRU) is the processing center and repository for a all officially filed documents, information, and data related to antidumping, countervailing duty, and related proceedings. The CRU operates a public reading room which is location of all public information relating to Import Administration proceedings. The CRU is located in room 1117 and operates during the hours of 8:30a.m. - 5:00p.m. Monday thru Friday.

  Foreign-Trade Zones Board  
    Foreign-trade zones are designated sites licensed by the Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ) Board (Commerce Secretary is Chairperson) at which special Customs procedures may be used. These procedures allow domestic activity involving foreign items to take place prior to formal Customs entry. Duty-free treatment is accorded items that are reexported and duty payment is deferred on items sold in the U.S. market. When merchandise is manufactured in zones, users have the option of paying duties at the finished product rate. Thus, zones can help offset Customs advantages available to overseas producers who compete with producers located in the United States.
    Subzones are special-purpose zones, usually at manufacturing plants. A site which has been granted zone status may be used for zone activity if the site or a section thereof has been separately approved for FTZ activation by local U.S. Customs officials, and the zone activity remains under the supervision of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FTZ sites and facilities remain within the jurisdiction of local, state or federal governments or agencies.

  Information Technology  
      The Information Technology (IT) Unit provides technical support to Import Administration offices and staff, oversees the dissemination of information to the pubic through IA’s website, and facilitates the development of new technologies to better serve IA’s customers throughout the world. In the near future, the IT Unit will be working closely with the APO and CRU units to develop an electronic filing and release system available through IA’s website.


    Petition Counseling and Analysis Unit (PCAU)  
    The PCAU helps U.S. Businesses understand U.S. unfair trade laws dealing with dumping and unfair foreign government subsidies, and the process of filing a petition requesting the initiation of an investigation. It Provides guidance to potential petitioners to assist them in determining what types of information will be required in order to pursue action against an industry suspected of unfair trade practices.
    The PCAU also assists potential petitioners in ensuring their petition is in compliance with statutory initiation standards and provides small businesses with publicly available tariff and trade data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Treasury, and the U.S. International Trade Commission.

  Statutory Import Programs  
    Statutory Import Programs Staff (SIPS) has responsibility for administering several specific import laws of the United States. The Departments of Commerce and the Interior jointly administer the Insular Possessions Watch and Jewelry Programs governing watch duty-exemption allocations and watch and jewelry duty-refund benefits for producers in the United States insular possessions (the Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands).
    Under the Florence Agreement Program scientific instruments may be imported into the United States by non-profit institutions free of duty if no equivalent instrument is available in the United States. Under Annex E of the Nairobi Protocol, articles for physically and mentally handicapped persons are allowed into the United States free of duty if the importer completes Form ITA-362P. SIPS maintains a database of the entries which would be needed if the safeguard provision in the legislation was invoked.

  Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis  
    The steel import licensing system includes both the online registration system and the automatic steel import license issuance system. All imports of steel products listed in the President's March 5, 2002, section 201 relief determination, including those products subject to country exemptions or product exclusions, are subject to the import licensing requirements. Information gathered from these licenses will be used to ensure that the purpose of the 201 relief is not undermined, with certain aggregate information reported publicly under the surge monitoring program.

  Subsidies Enforcement  
    The primary mission of the SEO is to assist the private sector by monitoring foreign subsidies and identifying subsidies that can be remedied under the Subsidies Agreement of the World Trade Organization of which the United States is a member. As part of its monitoring efforts, the SEO has created a Subsidies Library, which is available to the public via the internet. The goal is to create an easily accessible one-stop shop that provides user-friendly information on foreign government subsidy practices.

  Textiles and Apparel  
    The Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for Textiles, Apparel and Consumer Goods Industries oversees programs and strategies to improve the domestic and international competitiveness of the U.S.fiber, textile, and apparel industries, as well as industries which manufacture a wide range of consumer products. The DAS also serves as Chairman of the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA), which determines when market disrupting factors exist in the domestic fiber, textile, and apparel marketplace. The DAS also administers U.S. textile quota agreements, formulates trade policy, performs research and analysis, compiles industry data, and promotes U.S. trade events for a whole spectrum of textile, apparel, and consumer goods

  Trade Remedy Compliance  
    The Trade Remedy Compliance Staff (TRCS) provides assistance to U.S. businesses which feel that their trade problems may stem from unfair practices or the improper application of foreign unfair trade laws. For key countries, TRCS personnel in Washington, D.C. and abroad track foreign government policies and market developments that might contribute to unfairly traded imports. TRCS also keeps watch on all our trading partners’ antidumping and countervailing activity to identify potential difficulties for U.S. exporters and/or conflicts with World Trade Organization obligations.



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United States Department of Commerce . International Trade Administration . Import Administration . 1401 Constitution Ave. N.W. Washington DC 20230
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