19 U.S.C. § 1673c Termination Or Suspension of Investigation

• Library: United States Statutes
• Edition: 2023 Edition
• Currency: Current through P.L. 118-19 (published on www.congress.gov on 10/06/2023)

(a) Termination of investigation upon withdrawal of petition

(1) In general

(A) Withdrawal of petition

Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), an investigation under this part may be terminated by either the administering authority or the Commission, after notice to all parties to the investigation, upon withdrawal of the petition by the petitioner or by the administering authority if the investigation was initiated under section 1673a(a) of this title.

(B) Refiling of petition

If, within 3 months after the withdrawal of a petition under subparagraph (A), a new petition is filed seeking the imposition of duties on both the subject merchandise of the withdrawn petition and the subject merchandise from another country, the administering authority and the Commission may use in the investigation initiated pursuant to the new petition any records compiled in an investigation conducted pursuant to the withdrawn petition. This subparagraph applies only with respect to the first withdrawal of a petition.

(2) Special rules for quantitative restriction agreements

(A) In general

Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), the administering authority may not terminate an investigation under paragraph (1) by accepting an understanding or other kind of agreement to limit the volume of imports into the United States of the subject merchandise unless the administering authority is satisfied that termination on the basis of that agreement is in the public interest.

(B) Public interest factors

In making a decision under subparagraph (A) regarding the public interest the administering authority shall take into account-

(i) whether, based upon the relative impact on consumer prices and the availability of supplies of the merchandise, the agreement would have a greater adverse impact on United States consumers than the imposition of antidumping duties;

(ii) the relative impact on the international economic interests of the United States; and

(iii) the relative impact on the competitiveness of the domestic industry producing the like merchandise, including any such impact on employment and investment in that industry.

(C) Prior consultations

Before making a decision under subparagraph (A) regarding the public interest, the administering authority shall, to the extent practicable, consult with-

(i) potentially affected consuming industries; and

(ii) potentially affected producers and workers in the domestic industry producing the like merchandise, including producers and workers not party to the investigation.

(3) Limitation on termination by Commission

The Commission may not terminate an investigation under paragraph (1) before a preliminary determination is made by the administering authority under section 1673b(b) of this title.

(b) Agreements to eliminate completely sales at less than fair value or to cease exports of merchandise

The administering authority may suspend an investigation if the exporters of the subject merchandise who account for substantially all of the imports of that merchandise agree-

(1) to cease exports of the merchandise to the United States within 6 months after the date on which the investigation is suspended, or

(2) to revise their prices to eliminate completely any amount by which the normal value of the merchandise which is the subject of the agreement exceeds the export price (or the constructed export price) of that merchandise.

(c) Agreements eliminating injurious effect

(1) General rule

If the administering authority determines that extraordinary circumstances are present in a case, it may suspend an investigation upon the acceptance of an agreement to revise prices from exporters of the subject merchandise who account for substantially all of the imports of that merchandise into the United States, if the agreement will eliminate completely the injurious effect of exports to the United States of that merchandise and if-

(A) the suppression or undercutting of price levels of domestic products by imports of that merchandise will be prevented, and

(B) for each entry of each exporter the amount by which the estimated normal value exceeds the export price (or the constructed export price) will not exceed 15 percent of the weighted average amount by which the estimated normal value exceeded the export price (or the constructed export price) for all less-than-fair-value entries of the exporter examined during the course of the investigation.

(2) "Extraordinary circumstances" defined

(A) Extraordinary circumstances

For purposes of this subsection, the term "extraordinary circumstances" means circumstances in which-

(i) suspension of an investigation will be more beneficial to the domestic industry than continuation of the investigation, and

(ii) the investigation is complex.

(B) "Complex" defined

For purposes of this paragraph, the term "complex" means-