The USITC determines and investigates whether imports injure or threaten to injure U.S. industries under a number of trade laws.

Antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – Under Title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, the USITC and U.S. Department of Commerce play a role in determining the occurrence of dumping and subsidization.

The USITC determines whether imports that have been found to be dumped (sold at less than fair value in the United States) materially injure or threaten to materially injure a U.S. industry. If the Commerce Department determines that the dumping is occurring, and the USITC finds material injury or threat, Commerce will issue an antidumping duty and/or countervailing duty order.

Five-year (Sunset) Reviews - These reviews occur after antidumping duty and/or countervailing duty orders have been in place for five years. Commerce and the USITC determine whether revocation of the order(s) would likely lead to the continuation or recurrence of dumping or subsidies and of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time.

Global and special safeguard investigations - Global safeguard investigations are conducted by the USITC, and they make affirmative determinations on domestic industries that petition for import relief due to material injury.

Commerce determines whether the alleged dumping or subsidizing is occurring, and if so, the margin of dumping or amount of subsidy.

The USITC determines whether the U.S. industry is materially injured or threatened with material injury by reason of the imports under investigation.

If both Commerce and the USITC reach affirmative final determinations on their individual questions, then Commerce will issue an antidumping duty order to offset the dumping or a countervailing duty order to offset the subsidy.

Dumping occurs when a foreign producer sells a product in the United States at a price that is below that producer's sales price in its home market, or at a price that is lower than its cost of production.

Subsidization occurs when a government provides countervailable financial assistance to benefit the production, manufacture, or exportation of a good.

When an antidumping or countervailing duty order is imposed, Commerce instructs the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (Customs) to assess antidumping and/or countervailing duties on imports of the product into the United States to offset the unfair trade practice.

The Customs Service assesses antidumping duties and/or countervailing duties on imported merchandise.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection maintains a searchable database of antidumping and countervailing duty messages that can be retrieved based on simple or complex search characteristics using keywords and Boolean operators. The messages are segregated by Antidumping or Countervailing and span the years 1992 to present.

http://addcvd.cbp.gov/

Under this law, antidumping and countervailing duties collected are distributed annually to affected domestic producers for qualifying expenditures incurred.

The Uruguay Round Agreements Act, approved in late 1994, amended the antidumping and countervailing duty laws in several respects. One of the most significant changes is the provision requiring the Department of Commerce and the Commission to conduct reviews no later than five years after an antidumping or countervailing duty order is issued to determine whether revoking the order would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping or subsidies (Commerce) and of material injury (Commission).

This requirement resulted in reviews of all outstanding antidumping and countervailing duty orders in existence as of January 1, 1995, over a three-year "transition period" that began in July 1998 and ended in June 2001. Original first reviews of antidumping and countervailing duty orders issued after January 1, 1995, are conducted five years after the effective date of the original order. Subsequent reviews (i.e., second reviews, third reviews, etc.) are conducted five years after the effective date of any continuation order.

Five-year reviews of all antidumping and countervailing duty orders that were issued prior to 1995 (known as "transition" reviews) were initiated by the Department of Commerce beginning in July 1998 and completed by both Commerce and the Commission in February 2001, several months prior to the statutory deadline of June 2001. Five-year reviews of all antidumping and countervailing duty orders that are issued after January 1, 1995, including any continuation orders, are initiated by Commerce by approximately 30 days prior to their five-year anniversary.

The Commission will institute its five-year review and set its schedule in a published Federal Register notice that will be effective the same day as Commerce's initiation of the five-year review. The Commission’s notice in each review will be posted in the Five-Year (Sunset) Reviews Database.

Approximately 95 days after publication in the Federal Register of the Commission's notice of institution of the five-year review, the Commission will decide whether to conduct a full or expedited five-year review. If the Commission decides to conduct a full five-year review, it will typically complete the review within 360 days of initiation. However, if interested party responses to the Commission's notice of institution are inadequate, the Commission can make an expedited determination within 150 days. Both Commerce and the Commission have the authority to extend these deadlines by up to 90 days in all transition reviews and other extraordinarily complicated cases.

In five-year reviews, the Commission determines whether revocation of the antidumping or countervailing duty order would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury to the U.S. industry. If the Commission’s determination is affirmative, the order will remain in place. If the Commission’s determination is negative, the order will be revoked.

• Sunset Instructions for U.S. Producers, Importers, and Purchasers (Last Updated: 06/15/2011)

• Sunset U.S. Producer Questionnaire (Last Updated: 06/15/2011)

• Sunset U.S. Importer Questionnaire (Last Updated: 06/15/2011)

• Sunset U.S. Purchaser Questionnaire (Last Updated: 06/15/2011)

• Sunset Instructions for Foreign Producers (Last Updated: 06/15/2011)

• Sunset Foreign Producer Questionnaire (Last Updated: 06/15/2011)

Other sample questionnaires can be downloaded by visiting the Generic Questionnaires page.

Under this law, the Commission determines whether articles from China are being imported into the United States in such increased quantities or under such conditions as to cause or threaten to cause market disruption to the domestic producers of like or directly competitive products.

If the Commission makes an affirmative determination, it proposes a remedy. The Commission sends its report to the President and the U.S. Trade Representative. The President makes the final remedy decision

This type of investigation is also known as a "China Safeguard Investigation."