Definitions; special rules

For purposes of this subtitle— The term “administering authority” means the Secretary of Commerce, or any other officer of the United States to whom the responsibility for carrying out the duties of the administering authority under this subtitle are transferred by law. The term “Commission” means the United States International Trade Commission. The term “country” means a foreign country, a political subdivision, dependent territory, or possession of a foreign country, and, except for the purpose of antidumping proceedings, may include an association of 2 or more foreign countries, political subdivisions, dependent territories, or possessions of countries into a customs union outside the United States. The term “industry” means the producers as a whole of a domestic like product, or those producers whose collective output of a domestic like product constitutes a major proportion of the total domestic production of the product. For purposes of clause (i), a producer and an exporter or importer shall be considered to be related parties, if— In appropriate circumstances, the United States, for a particular product market, may be divided into 2 or more markets and the producers within each market may be treated as if they were a separate industry if— The effect of dumped imports or imports of merchandise benefiting from a countervailable subsidy shall be assessed in relation to the United States production of a domestic like product if available data permit the separate identification of production in terms of such criteria as the production process or the producer’s profits. If the domestic production of the domestic like product has no separate identity in terms of such criteria, then the effect of the dumped imports or imports of merchandise benefiting from a countervailable subsidy shall be assessed by the examination of the production of the narrowest group or range of products, which includes a domestic like product, for which the necessary information can be provided. Subject to clause (v), in an investigation involving a processed agricultural product produced from any raw agricultural product, the producers or growers of the raw agricultural product may be considered part of the industry producing the processed product if— For purposes of this subparagraph, the processed agricultural product shall be considered to be processed from a raw agricultural product through a single continuous line of production if— For purposes of clause (i)(II), in addition to such other factors it considers relevant to the question of coincidence of economic interest, the Commission shall— For purposes of this subparagraph, the term “raw agricultural product” means any farm or fishery product. This subparagraph shall cease to have effect if the United States Trade Representative notifies the administering authority and the Commission that the application of this subparagraph is inconsistent with the international obligations of the United States. Except as provided in paragraph (5B), a countervailable subsidy is a subsidy described in this paragraph which is specific as described in paragraph (5A). A subsidy is described in this paragraph in the case in which an authority— The determination of whether a subsidy exists shall be made without regard to whether the recipient of the subsidy is publicly or privately owned and without regard to whether the subsidy is provided directly or indirectly on the manufacture, production, or export of merchandise. The administering authority is not required to consider the effect of the subsidy in determining whether a subsidy exists under this paragraph. The term “financial contribution” means— A benefit shall normally be treated as conferred where there is a benefit to the recipient, including— A change in ownership of all or part of a foreign enterprise or the productive assets of a foreign enterprise does not by itself require a determination by the administering authority that a past countervailable subsidy received by the enterprise no longer continues to be countervailable, even if the change in ownership is accomplished through an arm’s length transaction. A subsidy is specific if it is an export subsidy described in subparagraph (B) or an import substitution subsidy described in subparagraph (C), or if it is determined to be specific pursuant to subparagraph (D). An export subsidy is a subsidy that is, in law or in fact, contingent upon export performance, alone or as 1 of 2 or more conditions. An import substitution subsidy is a subsidy that is contingent upon the use of domestic goods over imported goods, alone or as 1 of 2 or more conditions. In determining whether a subsidy (other than a subsidy described in subparagraph (B) or (C)) is a specific subsidy, in law or in fact, to an enterprise or industry within the jurisdiction of the authority providing the subsidy, the following guidelines shall apply: Where the authority providing the subsidy, or the legislation pursuant to which the authority operates, establishes objective criteria or conditions governing the eligibility for, and the amount of, a subsidy, the subsidy is not specific as a matter of law, if— Where there are reasons to believe that a subsidy may be specific as a matter of fact, the subsidy is specific if one or more of the following factors exist: Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (5) and (5A), in the case of merchandise imported from a Subsidies Agreement country, a subsidy shall be treated as noncountervailable if the administering authority determines in an investigation under part I of this subtitle or a review under part III of this subtitle that the subsidy meets all of the criteria described in subparagraph (B), (C), or (D), as the case may be, or the provisions of subparagraph (E)(i) apply. Except for a subsidy provided on the manufacture, production, or export of civil aircraft, a subsidy for research activities conducted by a person, or by a higher education or research establishment on a contract basis with a person, shall be treated as noncountervailable, if the subsidy covers not more than 75 percent of the costs of industrial research or not more than 50 percent of the costs of precompetitive development activity, and such subsidy is limited exclusively to— For purposes of this subparagraph— The term “industrial research” means planned search or critical investigation aimed at the discovery of new knowledge, with the objective that such knowledge may be useful in developing new products, processes, or services, or in bringing about a significant improvement to existing products, processes, or services. The term “precompetitive development activity” means the translation of industrial research findings into a plan, blueprint, or design for new, modified, or improved products, processes, or services, whether intended for sale or use, including the creation of a first prototype that would not be capable of commercial use. The term also may include the conceptual formulation and design of products, processes, or services alternatives and initial demonstration or pilot projects, if these same projects cannot be converted or used for industrial application or commercial exploitation. The term does not include routine or periodic alterations to existing products, production lines, manufacturing processes, services, or other ongoing operations even if those alterations may represent improvements. In the case of a research activity that spans both industrial research and precompetitive development activity, the allowable level of the noncountervailable subsidy shall not exceed 62.5 percent of the costs set forth in subclauses (I), (II), (III), (IV), and (V) of clause (i). The allowable level of a noncountervailable subsidy described in clause (i) shall be based on the total eligible costs incurred over the duration of a particular project. A subsidy provided, pursuant to a general framework of regional development, to a person located in a disadvantaged region within a country shall be treated as noncountervailable, if it is not specific (within the meaning of paragraph (5A)) within eligible regions and if the following conditions are met: For purposes of clause (i), the measurement of economic development shall be based on one or more of the following factors: For purposes of this subparagraph— The term “general framework of regional development” means that the regional subsidy programs are part of an internally consistent and generally applicable regional development policy, and that regional development subsidies are not granted in isolated geographical points having no, or virtually no, influence on the development of a region. The term “neutral and objective criteria” means criteria that do not favor certain regions beyond what is appropriate for the elimination or reduction of regional disparities within the framework of the regional development policy. A subsidy that is provided to promote the adaptation of existing facilities to new environmental requirements that are imposed by statute or by regulation, and that result in greater constraints and financial burdens on the recipient of the subsidy, shall be treated as noncountervailable, if the subsidy— For purposes of this subparagraph, the term “existing facilities” means facilities that have been in operation for at least 2 years before the date on which the new environmental requirements are imposed. If a subsidy is provided pursuant to a program that has been notified in accordance with Article 8.3 of the Subsidies Agreement, the subsidy shall be treated as noncountervailable and shall not be subject to investigation or review under this subtitle. Notwithstanding clause (i), a subsidy shall be treated as countervailable if— Domestic support measures that are provided with respect to products listed in Annex 1 to the Agreement on Agriculture, and that the administering authority determines conform fully to the provisions of Annex 2 to that Agreement, shall be treated as noncountervailable. Upon request by the administering authority, the Trade Representative shall provide advice regarding the interpretation and application of Annex 2. For the purpose of determining the net countervailable subsidy, the administering authority may subtract from the gross countervailable subsidy the amount of— The term “material injury” means harm which is not inconsequential, immaterial, or unimportant. In making determinations under sections 1671b(a), 1671d(b), 1673b(a), and 1673d(b) of this title, the Commission, in each case— shall consider— For purposes of subparagraph (B)— In evaluating the volume of imports of merchandise, the Commission shall consider whether the volume of imports of the merchandise, or any increase in that volume, either in absolute terms or relative to production or consumption in the United States, is significant. In evaluating the effect of imports of such merchandise on prices, the Commission shall consider whether— In examining the impact required to be considered under subparagraph (B)(i)(III), the Commission shall evaluate all relevant economic factors which have a bearing on the state of the industry in the United States, including, but not limited to— If domestic producers internally transfer significant production of the domestic like product for the production of a downstream article and sell significant production of the domestic like product in the merchant market, and the Commission finds that— For purposes of this paragraph— In determining whether there is a threat of material injury, the Commission shall consider information provided to it by the administering authority regarding the nature of the countervailable subsidy granted by a foreign country (particularly whether the countervailable subsidy is a subsidy described in Article 3 or 6.1 of the Subsidies Agreement) and the effects likely to be caused by the countervailable subsidy. The presence or absence of any factor which the Commission is required to evaluate under subparagraph (C) or (D) shall not necessarily give decisive guidance with respect to the determination by the Commission of material injury. In determining whether an industry in the United States is threatened with material injury by reason of imports (or sales for importation) of the subject merchandise, the Commission shall consider, among other relevant economic factors— The Commission shall consider the factors set forth in clause (i) as a whole in making a determination of whether further dumped or subsidized imports are imminent and whether material injury by reason of imports would occur unless an order is issued or a suspension agreement is accepted under this subtitle. The presence or absence of any factor which the Commission is required to consider under clause (i) shall not necessarily give decisive guidance with respect to the determination. Such a determination may not be made on the basis of mere conjecture or supposition. In investigations under part II of this subtitle, the Commission shall consider whether dumping in the markets of foreign countries (as evidenced by dumping findings or antidumping remedies in other WTO member markets against the same class or kind of merchandise manufactured or exported by the same party as under investigation) suggests a threat of material injury to the domestic industry. In the course of its investigation, the Commission shall request information from the foreign manufacturer, exporter, or United States importer concerning this issue. For purposes of this clause, the term “WTO member market” means the market of any country which is a WTO member. For purposes of this clause, the European Communities shall be treated as a foreign country. For purposes of clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (C), and subject to clause (ii), the Commission shall cumulatively assess the volume and effect of imports of the subject merchandise from all countries with respect to which— The Commission shall not cumulatively assess the volume and effect of imports under clause (i)— In each final determination in which it cumulatively assesses the volume and effect of imports under clause (i), the Commission shall make its determinations based on the record compiled in the first investigation in which it makes a final determination, except that when the administering authority issues its final determination in a subsequently completed investigation, the Commission shall permit the parties in the subsequent investigation to submit comments concerning the significance of the administering authority’s final determination, and shall include such comments and the administering authority’s final determination in the record for the subsequent investigation. In an investigation which involves a regional industry, and in which the Commission decides that the volume and effect of imports should be cumulatively assessed under this subparagraph, such assessment shall be based upon the volume and effect of imports into the region or regions determined by the Commission. The provisions of clause (iii) shall apply to such investigations. To the extent practicable and subject to subparagraph (G)(ii), for purposes of clause (i)(III) and (IV) of subparagraph (F), the Commission may cumulatively assess the volume and price effects of imports of the subject merchandise from all countries with respect to which— The Commission shall consider whether any change in the volume, price effects, or impact of imports of the subject merchandise since the filing of the petition in an investigation under part I or II of this subtitle is related to the pendency of the investigation and, if so, the Commission may reduce the weight accorded to the data for the period after the filing of the petition in making its determination of material injury, threat of material injury, or material retardation of the establishment of an industry in the United States. The Commission may not determine that there is no material injury or threat of material injury to an industry in the United States merely because that industry is profitable or because the performance of that industry has recently improved. The term “Subsidies Agreement” means the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures referred to in section 3511(d)(12) of this title. The term “Agreement on Agriculture” means the Agreement on Agriculture referred to in section 3511(d)(2) of this title. The term “interested party” means— in any investigation under this subtitle involving an industry engaged in producing a processed agricultural product, as defined in paragraph (4)(E), a coalition or trade association which is representative of either— The term “domestic like product” means a product which is like, or in the absence of like, most similar in characteristics and uses with, the article subject to an investigation under this subtitle. If the Commissioners voting on a determination by the Commission, including a determination under section 1675 of this title, are evenly divided as to whether the determination should be affirmative or negative, the Commission shall be deemed to have made an affirmative determination. For the purpose of applying this paragraph when the issue before the Commission is to determine whether there is— For purposes of part I of this subtitle, merchandise shall be treated as the product of the country in which it was manufactured or produced without regard to whether it is imported directly from that country and without regard to whether it is imported in the same condition as when exported from that country or in a changed condition by reason of remanufacture or otherwise. The term “sold or, in the absence of sales, offered for sale” means sold or, in the absence of sales, offered— The term “ordinary course of trade” means the conditions and practices which, for a reasonable time prior to the exportation of the subject merchandise, have been normal in the trade under consideration with respect to merchandise of the same class or kind. The administering authority shall consider the following sales and transactions, among others, to be outside the ordinary course of trade: The term “foreign like product” means merchandise in the first of the following categories in respect of which a determination for the purposes of part II of this subtitle can be satisfactorily made: Merchandise— Merchandise— The term “usual commercial quantities”, in any case in which the subject merchandise is sold in the market under consideration at different prices for different quantities, means the quantities in which such merchandise is there sold at the price or prices for one quantity in an aggregate volume which is greater than the aggregate volume sold at the price or prices for any other quantity. The term “nonmarket economy country” means any foreign country that the administering authority determines does not operate on market principles of cost or pricing structures, so that sales of merchandise in such country do not reflect the fair value of the merchandise. In making determinations under subparagraph (A) the administering authority shall take into account— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any determination made by the administering authority under subparagraph (A) shall not be subject to judicial review in any investigation conducted under part II of this subtitle. Upon request by the administering authority, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall provide the administering authority a copy of all public and proprietary information submitted to, or obtained by, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection that the administering authority considers relevant to proceedings involving merchandise from nonmarket economy countries. The administering authority shall protect proprietary information obtained under this section from public disclosure in accordance with section 1677f of this title. In determining whether a lease is equivalent to a sale for purposes of this subtitle, the administering authority shall consider— Except as otherwise provided by this paragraph, merchandise imported by, or for the use of, a department or agency of the United States Government (including merchandise provided for under chapter 98 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States) is subject to the imposition of countervailing duties or antidumping duties under this subtitle or section 1303 of this title. Merchandise imported by, or for the use of, the Department of Defense shall not be subject to the imposition of countervailing or antidumping duties under this subtitle if— the merchandise is acquired by, or for use of, such Department— The term “United States-Canada Agreement” means the United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement. The term “USMCA” has the meaning given that term in section 4502 of this title. The term “entry” includes, in appropriate circumstances as determined by the administering authority, a reconciliation entry created under a reconciliation process, defined in section 1401(s) of this title, that is initiated by an importer. The liability of an importer under an antidumping or countervailing duty proceeding for entries of merchandise subject to the proceeding will attach to the corresponding reconciliation entry or entries. Suspension of liquidation of the reconciliation entry or entries, for the purpose of enforcing this subtitle, is equivalent to the suspension of liquidation of the corresponding individual entries; but the suspension of liquidation of the reconciliation entry or entries for such purpose does not preclude liquidation for any other purpose. Except as provided in clauses (ii) and (iv), imports from a country of merchandise corresponding to a domestic like product identified by the Commission are “negligible” if such imports account for less than 3 percent of the volume of all such merchandise imported into the United States in the most recent 12-month period for which data are available that precedes— Imports that would otherwise be negligible under clause (i) shall not be negligible if the aggregate volume of imports of the merchandise from all countries described in clause (i) with respect to which investigations were initiated on the same day exceeds 7 percent of the volume of all such merchandise imported into the United States during the applicable 12-month period. In determining aggregate volume under clause (ii) or (iv), the Commission shall not consider imports from any country specified in paragraph (7)(G)(ii). Notwithstanding clauses (i) and (ii), the Commission shall not treat imports as negligible if it determines that there is a potential that imports from a country described in clause (i) will imminently account for more than 3 percent of the volume of all such merchandise imported into the United States, or that the aggregate volumes of imports from all countries described in clause (ii) will imminently exceed 7 percent of the volume of all such merchandise imported into the United States. The Commission shall consider such imports only for purposes of determining threat of material injury. In the case of an investigation under section 1671 of this title, subparagraph (A) shall be applied to imports of subject merchandise from developing countries by substituting “4 percent” for “3 percent” in subparagraph (A)(i) and by substituting “9 percent” for “7 percent” in subparagraph (A)(ii). In computing import volumes for purposes of subparagraphs (A) and (B), the Commission may make reasonable estimates on the basis of available statistics. In an investigation in which the Commission makes a regional industry determination under paragraph (4)(C), the Commission’s examination under subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall be based upon the volume of subject merchandise exported for sale in the regional market in lieu of the volume of all subject merchandise imported into the United States. The term “subject merchandise” means the class or kind of merchandise that is within the scope of an investigation, a review, a suspension agreement, an order under this subtitle or section 1303 of this title, or a finding under the Antidumping Act, 1921. The terms “section 1303” and “1303” mean section 1303 of this title as in effect on the day before the effective date of title II of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. The term “suspension agreement” means an agreement described in section 1671c(b), 1671c(c), 1673c(b), 1673c(c), or 1673c(l) of this title. The term “exporter or producer” means the exporter of the subject merchandise, the producer of the subject merchandise, or both where appropriate. For purposes of section 1677b of this title, the term “exporter or producer” includes both the exporter of the subject merchandise and the producer of the same subject merchandise to the extent necessary to accurately calculate the total amount incurred and realized for costs, expenses, and profits in connection with production and sale of that merchandise. The term “WTO Agreement” means the Agreement defined in section 3501(9) of this title. The terms “WTO member” and “WTO member country” mean a state, or separate customs territory (within the meaning of Article XII of the WTO Agreement), with respect to which the United States applies the WTO Agreement. The term “GATT 1994” means the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade annexed to the WTO Agreement. The term “Trade Representative” means the United States Trade Representative. The following persons shall be considered to be “affiliated” or “affiliated persons”: The terms “dumped” and “dumping” refer to the sale or likely sale of goods at less than fair value. The term “dumping margin” means the amount by which the normal value exceeds the export price or constructed export price of the subject merchandise. The term “weighted average dumping margin” is the percentage determined by dividing the aggregate dumping margins determined for a specific exporter or producer by the aggregate export prices and constructed export prices of such exporter or producer. The magnitude of the margin of dumping used by the Commission shall be— The term “developing country” means a country designated as a developing country by the Trade Representative. The term “least developed country” means a country which the Trade Representative determines is— The Trade Representative shall publish in the Federal Register, and update as necessary, a list of— In determining whether a country is a developing country under subparagraph (A), the Trade Representative shall consider such economic, trade, and other factors which the Trade Representative considers appropriate, including the level of economic development of such country (the assessment of which shall include a review of the country’s per capita gross national product) and the country’s share of world trade. A determination that a country is a developing or least developed country pursuant to this paragraph shall be for purposes of this subtitle only and shall not affect the determination of a country’s status as a developing or least developed country with respect to any other law.