Lack of Protective Orders in CBP AD/CV Duty Evasion Proceedings Among Early Areas of Focus

SAN DIEGO -- Early feedback from Capitol Hill and stakeholders on CBP's recently issued regulations for new antidumping and countervailing duty evasion processes (see 1608190014) was largely focused on the lack of administrative protective orders (APOs) within such allegation proceedings, said Troy Riley, executive director-Commercial Targeting and Enforcement at CBP. Riley, who spoke on a panel at the Western Cargo Conference on Oct. 14, said it's too early since the processes were put in place for CBP to really know what issues seem to cause problems, he said. Comments are due Oct. 21.

Riley expects many of the comments on the interim final rule to mention APOs, but it's unclear whether CBP is authorized to revise that, he said. Some administrative proceedings use APOs to keep proprietary information from being released outside of a proceeding, but the customs reauthorization law's AD/CV duty evasion language in the Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) didn't provide for APOs. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, recently said the omission of APO language was purposeful (see 1608240030).

Some allegations have been filed since the rules went into effect (see 1609150028), though Riley declined to say how many. The agency is now accepting allegations through a dedicated email address, though it will add the ability to file EAPA allegations through the e-Allegations portal in about a month, he said. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department is in the process of developing its own regulatory changes to address differences between the EAPA requirements and Commerce's current processes for scope inquiries, said Lisa Gelsomino, CEO of Avalon Risk Management.