Key Notes:
- The GAO publicly released an audit to address concerns that domestic industries “may sometimes file [AD/CVD] petitions without merit to obstruct domestic market competition.”
- In its audit, the GAO analyzed the process administered by federal agencies to impose AD/CVD orders.
- The GAO concluded that the agency process for obtaining these orders, as well as its features, impose sufficient controls to ensure petitions are not meritless and contain accurate and complete information.
On January 9, 2023, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly released a performance audit scrutinizing the “process design” for the imposition of antidumping and/or countervailing duty (AD/CVD) tariffs jointly administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC). The audit addressed concerns from critics claiming that domestic industries “may sometimes file petitions without merit to obstruct domestic market competition.”