CSUSTL Annual Congressional Staff Briefing Conducted in Washington DC in November/World Class Panel Presents a Technical Review of US Trade Remedy Laws

The Committee to Support US Trade Laws (CSUSTL) held its 2023 Congressional Staff Briefing in a virtual forum on November 7th with the topic being “Trade Remedy Laws: A Technical Discussion”.  A panel of 5 US experts provided comments to an audience comprised of industry, congressional staff, and US government agency officials.  The CSUSTL technical panel consisted of a former General Counsel for the USTR, former USTR Ambassador, former White House National Security Counsel; former congressional committee staffer, and former Senior Attorney at the DoC Enforcement & Compliance office.  The following presenters comprised the panel – Jeff Gerrish/Schagrin Associates – Trade Remedies; John Herrmann/Kelley Drye & Warran LLP – Antidumping Duty Laws; Sarah Shulman/Cassidy Levy Kent LLP – Countervailing Duty Laws; Stephen Vaughn/King & Spalding LLP – US International Trade Commission; and Whitney Rolig/Picard Kentz & Rowe LLP – Enforcement by US Customs and Border Protection.  Video recordings of each presentation can be obtained online on the front page of this website. 

Speaker Jeff Gerrish/Schagrin Associates - Presented an overview of the U.S. trade law regime with specific focus on trade remedies.  His presentation included a discussion of how discretionary trade remedies (e.g., Sections 201 and 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962) are used to address unfair trade practices, including a brief history of their enactment into law and discussion of current uses.

Speaker John Herrmann/Kelley Drye & Warren LLP - Provided an overview of the antidumping duty law and its use as a safety valve to protect against predatory pricing practices.  His presentation included a discussion of distortions in dumping calculations that can mask dumping, including nonmarket economy impacts, particular market situations, differential pricing, and affiliated transactions.

Speaker Sarah Shulman/Cassidy Levy Kent LLP – Provided an overview of the countervailing duty law and its use as a safety value against trade-distorting government subsidization.  Her presentation included a discussion of the application of the CVD law to nonmarket economy countries, current challenges in application of the CVD law to address China’s Belt & Road Initiatives, and emerging threats to the CVD law in the form of WTO-centric calls for carve outs for “green subsidies.”

Speaker Stephen Vaughn/King & Spalding LLP – Presented on the role of the International Trade Commission in assessing whether dumping and/or subsidization cause material injury or threat thereof to a domestic industry.  He discussed emerging issues before the USITC, including the Commission’s analysis of other trade remedies (e.g., Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962) in the context of AD/CVD determinations as well as the Commission’s recent change in calculating capacity utilization.  He also discussed Commission composition, including the current vacancies on the Commission.

Speaker Whitney Rolig/Picard Kentz & Rowe LLP - Addressed enforcement of trade remedies with specific emphasis on the role of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in addressing diversion, evasion, and transshipment.  She discussed how foreign producers attempt to undermine lawfully imposed trade remedies and will address Customs’ historical reporting of enforcement activities.  Her comments also addressed circumvention, UFLPA enforcement, and Enforce and Protect Act cases.

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