Anti-Dumping Duty Rates: How They're Set & Why They Vary So Much

Unlike a regular duty rate, which you can read straight off the tariff schedule, an anti-dumping rate is calculated — and the same product from the same country can carry a low single-digit rate for one factory and a triple-digit rate for another. Understanding why is the key to sourcing around the exposure.

The core concept: the dumping margin

The anti-dumping rate is the dumping margin — the percentage by which a product's “normal value” exceeds the price it's sold for in the US.

• Normal value is usually the price in the exporter's home market, or, if that's unreliable, the cost of production plus a reasonable profit.
• Export price is what the goods sell for to the US, with adjustments for freight, packing, and other costs.
• If normal value is $100 and the US export price is $70, the dumping margin is roughly 43%, and that becomes the deposit rate.

Why rates vary so much between suppliers

Company-specific (calculated) rates

Exporters Commerce individually examines and who cooperate fully get a rate calculated from their own data. If they're barely dumping, or not at all, this can be very low — sometimes near zero.

The “all-others” rate

Producers who weren't individually examined but cooperated generally receive an “all-others” rate, typically a weighted average of the calculated rates. It's a middle path.

Adverse facts available (AFA)

When an exporter refuses to participate or provides unreliable data, Commerce applies “adverse facts available” — it uses the highest supportable margin as a penalty for non-cooperation. AFA rates are what produce the eye-watering headline numbers of 100%, 200%, or more.

Country-wide rates (non-market economies)

For non-market economies, Commerce may apply a single country-wide rate to any exporter that hasn't demonstrated independence from government control. This country-wide rate is often the highest, and it's the default an importer pays without a qualifying supplier.

Rates aren't fixed: annual reviews

Each year, interested parties can request an administrative review, and Commerce recalculates the rate for the review period using updated data. Your final liability is then trued up to that reviewed rate at liquidation — which is why the deposit you paid at entry is only an estimate. A rate can rise or fall meaningfully year to year.

Where to find current rates

Cash-deposit rates by producer/exporter are published through Commerce's ACCESS system and referenced in CBP's AD/CVD messaging. Our step-by-step guide shows how to pull them: how to check if your product has AD/CVD duties. Because rates change with each review, always verify against the current order rather than an older figure.