AD/CV Duty Evasion Rule Left Out Provisions Requested by Lawmakers, Portman Says
CBP's interim final rule (IFR) on antidumping and countervailing duty evasion left out several provisions sought by Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, as the agency was drafting the regulations, a Portman spokesperson said in an email. “Our prior bipartisan letter called…
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for interested parties to have access to certain kinds of information throughout the process to ensure transparency,” the spokesperson wrote. Portman and four other senators in June wrote (here) to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske that the rule should allow “all interested parties, including U.S. businesses and workers,” to submit information and access submissions sent by other parties, as well as provide “meaningful opportunity to comment on all of the information that CBP will rely on in making its determination.” But, "the IFR as outlined does not prescribe that level of access to information," the Portman spokesperson said. "It contains a lot of language about how CBP will notify parties on developments under the legally-prescribed timeline, but little about what contact CBP will have with interested parties or what opportunity they will have to comment on the process while it is unfolding.” Under the interim rule, CBP is now required to open an investigation into allegations of AD/CV duty evasion within specific timelines (see 1608190014). CBP didn’t comment, but it recently defended the rule's transparency provisions in response to a public statement from Portman (see 1608240030). Portman helped write the bill that led to the rule and is a member of the Senate Finance Committee.