New Bill Would Allow CBP to Self-Initiate EAPA Evasion Investigations
A newly introduced bill would allow CBP to self-initiate Enforce and Protect Act investigations of antidumping duty and countervailing duty evasion, and also would require importers challenging EAPA decisions to pay all allegedly evaded duties before filing suit.
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The Strengthening Trade Enforcement and Evasion Limitations Act, or Steel Act, introduced by Reps. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., on Dec. 4, would allow CBP to begin EAPA investigations on its own accord if it “has information that reasonably suggests that covered merchandise has been entered into the customs territory of the United States through evasion.”
Currently, EAPA investigations must be based on an allegation from an “interested party,” which may include an importer or foreign exporter, a domestic producer, a labor union or a trade association.
“By allowing Customs and Border Protection to initiate investigations on its own initiative when it finds evidence of evasion of antidumping or countervailing duty orders, this bill will give CBP an additional tool to crack down on these illegal schemes,” American Iron and Steel Institute President Kevin Dempsey said, according to a news release on the bill from Kelly and Deluzio.