Commerce to Review Russia's Market Economy Status in AD/CVD Investigation

The Commerce Department will review whether Russia is a non-market economy for antidumping duty purposes as part of a less-than-fair-value investigation into urea ammonium nitrate from the country, Commerce said in a notice initiating the investigation. Domestic producer CF Industries Nitrogen and its subsidiaries alleged that Russia was a nonmarket economy in the petition underlying the investigation.

In the petition, CF Industries laid out a wide array of practices leading to the sale at less than fair value of urea ammonium nitrate in the home market. These include "a significant and increasing volume of subject imports; impacts on market share; underselling and price suppression; lost sales and revenues; flatlined production, capacity utilization, and employment variables; and declining financial performance." Four urea ammonium nitrate exporters were identified in the petition and they include EuroChem, Acron Group, PJSC Kuibyshev Azot and SBU Azot.

A non-market economy finding for Russia would drastically alter how antidumping duty investigations are conducted involving the country. Should a finding of dumping be reached, all exporters would be subject to a country-wide rate unless they apply for a separate rate whereby they would have to prove an absence of government control.