Scope Inquiry Video Transcript

When an antidumping or countervailing duty (AD/CVD) investigation begins, one of the first things that the Department of Commerce works to figure out is what product or products will be covered by the investigation. This is called the “scope.” Determining the scope is one of the most important steps in an investigation. The scope is used by importers to understand if the product they are importing is subject to an order. Customs and Border Protection also uses the scope to enforce AD and CVD orders at the border and provide relief to impacted businesses.

However, no matter how comprehensive the scope is, sometimes it is unclear if a product being imported falls within the scope or not. In clarifying the scope, an importer can know whether their product will be subject to a duty. If a product is found to be “in scope” then duties will be applied to that product. If a product is found to be “outside of the scope” then, that product can be imported without duties.

Scope inquiries begin with a request, but who can request a scope determination? Any interested party, including importers, U.S. or foreign manufacturers or foreign governments. Once begun, a scope inquiry takes about 10 months to complete. During this time, an importer may be required to pay duties. If the product is eventually found to be outside the scope, any duties paid will be refunded.

Let’s look at an example. Let’s say, Commerce issued an order on pencils. The scope says that imports of pencils from a specific country will have duties placed on them. Do golf pencils count? What about mechanical pencils? There are many factors which go into determining whether a product is “in scope” or not. In this example, if it’s determined that the scope includes all wooden pencils, then generally speaking, golf pencils would receive duties, but mechanical pencils would not. In this way, Commerce ensures that duties provide relief to the injured U.S. manufacturers without placing duties on unnecessary or unintended products.

If you are interested in filling out a request for a scope determination, you can find the request online at access.trade.gov, on the ADCVD Resources page.

Global Business Navigator Chatbot ^Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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Scope Inquiry Video Transcript