G/ADP/IG/W/55  
 
16 March 2016  
(16-1540)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices 
Informal Group on Anti-Circumvention  Original: English  
 
PROCEDURES FOR INVESTIGATIN G ALLEGATIONS OF EVASION 
Paper from the United States 
The following communication, dated 15 March 2016, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of the United States. 
 
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 Background 
Under the Agreement on Implementation of Articl e VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and 
Trade 1994 (ADA), Members may apply anti-dumping duties after an investigation when the administering authority finds that dumped imports have caused material injury or threat of 
material injury to a domestic industry. However, exporters, resellers, or importers may try to 
evade the application of those duties, rendering th e measure ineffective and allowing the injurious 
dumping to continue. Furthermore, such evasion of anti-dumping duties can undermine the 
effectiveness of the ADA and erode confidence in  the rules-based multilateral trading system. 
 In our previous paper
1, the United States discussed the dramat ic increase in activities expressly 
designed to evade the application of anti-dumpi ng duties. The paper also mentioned that while 
participants in such activities can face substantial civil and criminal penalties from domestic 
customs authorities, the effectiveness of such penalties may be limited.  
Further Action to Combat Evasion 
In February 2016, President Barack Obama signed  the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement 
Act of 2015, which puts in place a new mech anism to combat anti-dumping duty evasion
2 and sets 
deadlines for the investigation of such allegations.3 More specifically, the Act provides for 
procedures for investigating allegations of evasion of anti-dumping duty orders, after an allegation 
is received by the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Commissioner) and provided the allegation is accompanied by information reasonably available to the party that filed 
the allegation. 
 Once a proper allegation is received, the Commissioner shall initiate an investigation if the 
Commissioner determines that the information provided reasonably suggests that evasion has 
taken place. During the investigation, the Commissioner may collect such additional information as is necessary to make a determination, including by issuing questionnaires and conducting 
verifications. If a party subject to the investigation has failed to cooperate by not acting to the 
best of the party or person's ability to comply with a request for information, the Commissioner may, as part of the determination, use an inference that is adverse to the interests of that party or person in selecting from among the facts available to make the determination.  
 
                                               
1 Antidumping Duty "Evasion Services", G/ADP/IG/W/54 (dated 17 March 2015). 
2 The new law's provisions would also apply to  combatting countervailing duty evasion. 
3 The evasion investigation process described in this paper is separate and dist inct from any other civil, 
criminal, or administrative proceedings conducted by the United States. G/ADP/IG/W/55 
 
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  As an interim measure, if the Commissioner makes a determination based on the investigation 
that there is a reasonable suspicion that covered merchandise4 was entered through evasion, the 
Commissioner must suspend the liquidation of each unliquidated entry of the covered merchandise that entered on or after the date of initiation of  the investigation, extend the liquidation for each 
unliquidated entry that entered before the date of initiation, and take additional measures that are 
necessary to protect the revenue.  
If, following the investigation, the Commissioner makes a determination that covered merchandise 
was entered through evasion, the Commissioner shall suspend the liquidation of unliquidated entries that are subject to the investigation and that  have entered on or after the date of initiation 
of the investigation, continue the suspension of liquidation made pursuant to the reasonable 
suspicion determination, and extend the period for liquidating unliquidated entries for covered 
merchandise entered before the date of initiation.  
A person determined to have entered covered merchandise through evasion, or the interested 
party that filed the allegation that resulted in the initiation of the investigation under the Act, may file an administrative appeal with the Commissioner and, subsequently, seek judicial review of the 
determination. 
 The provisions of this new law take effect 180 days after enactment (i.e. on 22 August 2016).  
One Way to Address an Ongoing Problem 
The United States seeks to highlight one potential solution to address the growing problem of 
evasion, but it is up to each Member to decide what methods and procedures are right for it, 
consistent with the WTO agreements. There are a number of issues that each Member must 
address in coming up with an appropriate approach, such as process for investigating evasion, appropriate notifications to be made to partie s, effects of the determination, role of the 
administering authority, possibility for interim measures, options for administrative or judicial 
review, and how the results of the investigations ar e to be publicly disclosed. While these are not 
all of the issues, they are some of the major issues that were considered in drafting the U.S. law that ultimately was enacted. 
 
The United States believes that it is useful for Members to share and discuss their individual 
experiences in designing similar processes to a ddress the issue of evasion, whether enacted or 
being contemplated. Such exchanges will shed light on the challenges of putting such a system in 
place, as well as what can and is being done. We  look forward to hearing the reactions and input 
from other Members. 
 
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4 The term "covered merchandise" means merchand ise that is subject to an anti-dumping or 
countervailing duty order.