Antidumping Duty (ADD)
Antidumping duty (ADD) is a duty imposed on imported goods sold in the United States at less than fair market value — below the price charged in the exporter's home market or below the cost of production. Administered by the Department of Commerce and collected by CBP, ADD applicability is determined by the subject merchandise's HTS code, country of origin, and producer identity.
In Detail
Antidumping investigations are initiated by the Department of Commerce based on a petition filed by a domestic industry alleging that subject imports are being sold at less than fair value. Commerce determines whether dumping exists and calculates the dumping margin; the USITC separately determines whether the domestic industry has suffered material injury. If both agencies make affirmative determinations, Commerce issues an antidumping duty order specifying the subject merchandise in terms of HTS codes and a product description, the covered countries, and the dumping margins by named producer/exporter.
ADD rates — called "cash deposit rates" at the time of entry — are calculated as the difference between the U.S. sales price and the "normal value" (typically the home market price or constructed value). These rates are established for specific named producers and exporters; unknown producers receive the "all-others" rate. Non-cooperating producers receive the highest calculated rate or an "adverse facts available" rate, which is typically the highest available and designed to be punitive. Rates are subject to periodic administrative reviews by Commerce, which can increase or decrease them for subsequent entries — meaning the deposit rate paid at entry is a preliminary amount, subject to adjustment after review.
ADD applies at the line-item level on the entry summary and is assessed separately from MFN duties, Section 301, and other trade remedies. CBP administers collection through a system of cash deposits at the time of entry and final assessment after Commerce completes the administrative review for the applicable period. Importers who do not track administrative review outcomes may face unexpected retroactive duty assessments — or refunds — after entries liquidate.
Classification Significance
The scope of an antidumping duty order is defined by HTS codes combined with a written product description. The base HTS code is the first filter for ADD scope determination — if the HTS code falls within the listed subheadings, the product description is then evaluated to confirm coverage. ADD rates are often substantial (25% to several hundred percent for some orders), making correct scope determination a high-stakes element of the complete classification analysis.
How Kanon Handles This
Kanon's Layer 2 evaluation flags applicable antidumping duty orders for the classified HTS code and country of origin, noting the relevant ADD order and the applicable deposit rate range. The ADD finding is documented in the Classification Support Package to ensure the importer has a complete picture of trade remedy exposure beyond the base MFN duty.