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28 Harv. Int'l. L. J. 69 (1987)
Preventative Approach to Import-Related Disputes: Antidumping, Countervailing Duty, and Section 337 Investigations, A

handle is hein.journals/hilj28 and id is 79 raw text is: VOLUME 28, NUMBER 1, WINTER 1987

A Preventative Approach to Import-Related
Disputes: Antidumping, Countervailing
Duty, and Section 337 Investigations
William A. Zeitler*
INTRODUCTION
Today's foreign producer or exporter to the United States confronts
an increasingly confusing and complex body of U.S. law which seeks
Ło promote fair trade. The principal statutes concerned with disputes
over unfairly traded imports are the antidumping law,' the counter-
vailing duty laws,2 and section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as
amended.3 The confusion stems from several sources. Although all
three statutes deal with unfairly traded imports, they are administered
and enforced separately.4 Another cause of confusion is that although
all three statutes require proof of injury to a United States industry
before a violation can be found, the standard for injury differs among
them. Finally, the statutes were designed to promote a variety of
policies, not all of which are consistent with one another. These
policies include the protection of United States industries, the need
to lower tariffs, the need to raise revenue, the consideration of domestic
antitrust concerns, and the need to maintain an open and free market
for trade.
From the standpoint of a foreign manufacturer, exporter or importer
involved in the import and sale of articles in the United States, the
trade statutes provide a number of reasons for concern. Defending
proceedings under the statutes is expensive, and their outcomes are
unpredictable. Section 337, antidumping and countervailing duty
proceedings also have a definite chilling effect on sales. Once proceed-
ings are instituted, United States customers will often seek alternative
* Associate, Seki & Jarvis, New York; J.D., University of Virginia Law School, 1968;
B.S.F.S., Georgetown, 1965. Formerly Senior Supervising Attorney, Office of Unfair Import
Investigations, United States International Trade Commission.
1. 19 U.S.C. §§ 1673, 1675, 1677 (1982 & Supp. III 1985).
2. Id. §§ 1671, 1675, 1676, 1677.
3. Id. § 1337.
4. The agency charged with responsibility for administering section 337 investigations is the
United States International Trade Commission (ITC). Antidumping and countervailing duty
investigations, on the other hand, are administered jointly by the ITC and by the Department
of Commerce (Commerce).