How to Check If Your Product Has AD/CVD Duties

The worst way to learn your product carries anti-dumping duties is a retroactive bill from CBP. The good news: exposure is checkable in advance with a short, repeatable process. Do this before you place an order, not after the container ships.

Step 1 — Nail down two facts: HTS code and country of origin

AD/CVD orders are country-specific and product-specific, so you need both inputs precisely. Get the correct 10-digit HTS classification for your product (our free HTS lookup tool and classification guide help here), and determine the true country of origin — the country where the goods were substantially transformed, which is not always where they shipped from.

Step 2 — Search active orders at CBP

CBP maintains an AD/CVD Search that lets you look up active anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders by case, product, or country. Start here to see whether any order plausibly covers your product/origin combination. Note the case numbers of anything that looks relevant — you'll use them in the next steps.

Step 3 — Confirm at Commerce (ACCESS / ADCVD)

The US Department of Commerce runs the ACCESS system and publishes AD/CVD proceedings, orders, and rates. Use it to pull the actual order documents for the case numbers you found, including the current cash-deposit rates by producer/exporter. This is where you learn whether a favorable company-specific rate exists for a supplier you're considering.

Step 4 — Cross-check the ITC

The US International Trade Commission publishes injury determinations and maintains resources on active investigations and orders. It's a useful cross-reference to confirm an order is in force and to understand the scope and history of a case.

Step 5 — The decisive test: read the scope

This is the step importers skip and regret. An order's HTS list is “for convenience only.” What legally governs is the written scope — the paragraph describing exactly which products are covered. Compare your product's materials, dimensions, and function against that language:

• If your product clearly matches the scope, assume it's covered — even if your exact HTS code isn't listed.
• If it clearly falls outside, you likely have a defensible position, but keep documentation.
• If it's genuinely ambiguous, request a scope ruling from Commerce rather than guessing.

Step 6 — Document your determination

Whatever you conclude, save the evidence: the HTS classification basis, the origin determination, screenshots of the orders you checked, and any scope analysis. If CBP ever questions an entry, contemporaneous documentation of a good-faith determination is your strongest position.