Article

Dumping and Countervailable Subsidies: Unfair foreign trade practices and how ITA can help

June 17, 2025

Eric Anderson from E&C Communications 

The Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration is committed to advancing fair trade for American businesses competing in the global economy. When international trade is fair, it fosters healthy competition, supports jobs and drives innovation. However, U.S. companies can find themselves facing a playing field that is skewed, making it difficult to compete. Unfair trade practices that cause injury to the U.S. industry are often revealed in two ways: foreign companies dumping products into the U.S. market or receiving countervailable subsidies from their governments.

Dumping occurs when a foreign producer sells its product at a lower price in the United States than it does in its home country or when the product is sold below the foreign producer’s cost of production. A countervailable subsidy is when a foreign government provides a financial contribution that benefits a specific enterprise or industry. Both injurious dumping and countervailable subsidization distort the free flow of goods and skew the playing field in favor of the foreign producer.

The good news is that ITA is ready to defend American industry and workers by investigating unfair trade practices by foreign companies and governments. Through its Enforcement and Compliance teams, ITA conducts antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) investigations to level the playing field and impose duties that offset unfair pricing and foreign subsidies—providing critical relief to U.S. producers and workers.

ITA also provides counseling for businesses who may be facing unfair trade practices. ITA’s Trade Remedy Counseling and Initiations office works with businesses large and small to help them:

  • Understand the U.S. trade laws dealing with dumping and unfair foreign government subsidies;
  • Determine what information will be required to file a petition that requests an investigation into the unfairly traded imports; and
  • Obtain publicly available data and information.

This service is free of charge and confidential.

Learn more about the AD/CVD laws and how ITA can help U.S. business seek relief from unfair trade and compete fairly in the global marketplace: U.S. Antidumping and Countervailing Duties