Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the affirmative preliminary determination in the antidumping duty (AD) investigation of 100- to 150-seat large civil aircraft from Canada. As AFA, Commerce applied the sole dumping margin calculated in the petition for Canadian exports of aircraft, which is 79.82 percent. This rate will apply to all other producers/exporters as well.

The Commerce Department will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of 100- to 150-seat large civil aircraft based on this preliminary rate.

“The United States is committed to free, fair and reciprocal trade with Canada, but this is not our idea of a properly functioning trading relationship,” said Secretary Ross. “We will continue to verify the accuracy of this decision, while do everything in our power to stand up for American companies and their workers.”

Although Canadian civil aircraft subject to this investigation have not yet been imported, an April 2016 press release announcing the sale of Canadian civil aircraft to a U.S. airline valued the order to be in excess of $5 billion.

The petitioner is The Boeing Company (IL).

Enforcement of U.S. trade law is a prime focus of the Trump administration. From January 20 through October 5, 2017, the Commerce Department has initiated 65 AD and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations – a 48 percent increase from the previous year, and a 16-year peak in the number of investigations initiated in a single fiscal year. The Commerce Department currently maintains 411 AD and CVD duty orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade. Antidumping laws provide U.S. businesses and workers with an internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the harmful effects of dumping unfairly priced products into the United States.

Commerce is currently scheduled to announce its final AD determination in this investigation on December 19, 2017.

If the Commerce Department makes an affirmative final determination of dumping and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) makes an affirmative final injury determination, Commerce will issue an AD order. If the Commerce Department makes a negative final determination of dumping or the ITC makes a negative final determination of injury, the investigation will be terminated and no order will be issued.

Click HERE for a fact sheet on today’s decision.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Enforcement and Compliance unit within the International Trade Administration is responsible for vigorously enforcing U.S. trade laws and does so through an impartial, transparent process that abides by international rules and is based solely on factual evidence.

Foreign companies that price their products in the U.S. market below the cost of production or below prices in their home markets are subject to antidumping duties.

In fiscal year 2016, the United States collected $1.5 billion in duties on $14 billion of imported goods found to be underpriced, or subsidized by foreign governments.