Establishing Enhanced Collection and Enforcement of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties and Violations of Trade and Customs Laws
March 31, 2017
The executive order issued by the White House on March 31, 2017 states that “importers that unlawfully evade antidumping and countervailing duties expose United States employers to unfair competition and deprive the Federal Government of lawful revenue. As of May 2015, $2.3 billion in antidumping and countervailing duties owed to the Government remained uncollected, often from importers that lack assets located in the United States.”
The two key provisions of this order require implementation plan development within 90 days. First, within 90 days of the date of the Order, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, develop a plan that would require certain covered importers to provide security for antidumping and countervailing duty liability through bonds and other legal measures, and also would identify other appropriate enforcement measures.
Second, and also within 90 days of the date of the Order, the Secretary of Homeland Security, through the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, shall develop and implement plan for combating violations of U.S. trade and customs laws for goods and for enabling interdiction and disposal of inadmissible merchandise.
The US-Iran Chamber of Commerce provides Executive Order Updates,[1] particularly those which relate to international trade, US-Iran trade relations, and other trade- and compliance-related matters. Executive orders are legally binding orders issued by United States Presidents and directed towards officers and agencies of the Federal Government of the United States. Article II of the U.S. Constitution affords presidents a “grant of executive power.” Presidents use that term, along with other powers enumerated in the Constitution, to issue executive orders. If you have questions regarding this Executive Order, please feel free to contact the US-Iran Chamber of Commerce at info@usircc.org.
[1] The information contained in this article is current through April 2017. The US-Iran Chamber of Commerce takes no responsibility for updates, terminations, superseding executive orders, or other changes to this or other executive orders.