AD/CVD duties can add 30%, 100%, or even 500% to your cost of goods — and they can arrive as a retroactive bill years after your shipment clears customs. This guide explains how they work, which products are currently affected, and how to protect your business.
Antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders are trade remedies authorized by US law to protect American industries from unfair import competition. Unlike standard tariffs, which apply universally, AD/CVD orders are highly specific: they target individual products from individual countries, often with rates that vary by manufacturer.
AD duties address the practice of foreign producers selling goods in the US below their production cost or below their home-market price — "dumping" products to gain market share and drive out US competitors. CVD duties address a related but distinct problem: foreign government subsidies (cheap loans, grants, tax breaks, below-cost utilities) that give overseas producers an unfair cost advantage.
Both remedies are administered by two agencies: the US Department of Commerce (Commerce), which investigates margins and sets rates, and the US International Trade Commission (USITC), which determines whether US industry has been materially injured. CBP collects the duties at the border.
While AD and CVD cases almost always run together and result in simultaneously collected duties, they address fundamentally different conduct and are legally independent proceedings.
AD duties are imposed when Commerce finds that foreign producers sold goods in the US at less than fair value — meaning below their home-market price or below the cost to produce the goods.
CVD duties offset benefits that foreign governments provide to their producers — grants, preferential loans, tax forgiveness, below-market land or utilities — that lower the cost of production unfairly.
In practice, AD and CVD cases are almost always filed and decided together. A single shipment of Chinese solar panels, for example, pays both the AD rate and the CVD rate as separate line items on the same CBP entry summary. The combined burden can be substantial.
AD/CVD duty mechanics are fundamentally different from ordinary tariffs. Understanding the cash deposit / final assessment cycle is essential for any importer buying from a country with an active order.
When you import goods subject to an AD/CVD order, CBP requires a cash deposit (or bond) at entry equal to the applicable rate. This rate is typically the rate established in the most recent investigation or administrative review for your specific manufacturer. It is a deposit, not a final payment.
Either the domestic industry or the foreign exporter can request an Annual Administrative Review from Commerce for any year in which they imported. Commerce re-examines actual sales data for that period and computes a final rate. This process takes 12–18 months after the review period ends.
When Commerce publishes the final review rate, CBP liquidates your entries. If the final rate is higher than your deposit, you owe the difference plus interest. If it is lower, CBP refunds the excess. Bills can arrive 2–4 years after entry, often with no warning to the importer.
Many importers are blindsided by retroactive AD/CVD bills. You may have paid a 10% cash deposit, made pricing and margin decisions accordingly, and then receive a CBP bill 3 years later for an additional 40% (plus interest) because the final review rate increased. This risk cannot be hedged away — it must be priced into your sourcing decisions from day one.
AD/CVD rates are typically set at three levels: a company-specific rate for manufacturers investigated by Commerce, a separate rate for companies that demonstrated independence from government control (common in China cases), and an all-others rate (sometimes called the China-wide rate) that applies as a default — often extremely high — when the manufacturer cannot be identified or has not been reviewed.
Importing from an unknown or unreviewed Chinese manufacturer typically means paying the China-wide rate, which for many products exceeds 100%. Always confirm your supplier's rate before purchasing.
The following table highlights significant active AD/CVD orders affecting common import categories as of early 2026. This is illustrative — there are over 400 active orders in total. Rates shown are approximate; the binding rate for your specific manufacturer and entry period may differ. Always verify with the CBP ADCVD portal.
Rates shown below are based on the most recent published investigations or reviews. They can and do change — sometimes significantly — through annual administrative reviews. Treat these as indicators, not binding figures.
| Product | Country | AD Rate | CVD Rate | Status | Case # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steel Flat-Rolled Products (Hot-Rolled) | China | 199%+ | 256% | Active | A-570-045 / C-570-046 |
| Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic (Solar) Cells & Modules | China | 238% | 15–49% | Active | A-570-979 / C-570-980 |
| Aluminum Extrusions | China | 33–374% | 7–374% | Active | A-570-967 / C-570-968 |
| Wooden Bedroom Furniture | China | 7–216% | N/A | Active | A-570-890 |
| Tires (Passenger Vehicle & Light Truck) | China | 14–87% | 20–116% | Active | A-570-016 / C-570-017 |
| Natural Honey | China | 184% | N/A | Active | A-570-863 |
| Uncoated Groundwood Paper | Canada | 22% | 4–10% | Active | A-122-862 / C-122-863 |
| Shrimp (Warm-Water) | Vietnam | 2–25% | N/A | Under Review | A-552-802 |
| Shrimp (Warm-Water) | India | 2–10% | N/A | Active | A-533-840 |
| Steel Pipe & Tube | China | 99–630% | 7–200% | Active | A-570-849 / C-570-850 |
| Mattresses | China | 92–1732% | 84–426% | Active | A-570-116 / C-570-117 |
| Truck & Bus Tires | China | 22–99% | 6–100% | Active | A-570-040 / C-570-041 |
| Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells | Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam | 30–271% | 9–292% | Active | A-558-901 / C-558-902 et al. |
| Cold-Drawn Mechanical Tubing (Steel) | China, India, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Switzerland | 6–141% | 0–98% | Active | A-570-054 et al. |
| Hardwood Plywood | China | 183% | 22% | Under Review | A-570-051 / C-570-052 |
Sources: US Department of Commerce Access database, CBP ADCVD order list. Rates are illustrative ranges as of Q1 2026 and are subject to change through annual administrative reviews. Check access.trade.gov for current company-specific rates.
AD/CVD orders are organized around specific HTS codes, not entire chapters. But certain chapters have historically attracted heavy AD/CVD activity. If your goods fall into any of the chapters below, you should verify AD/CVD applicability before importing.
AD/CVD orders apply to specific HTS codes within chapters, not entire chapters. A chapter marked "HIGH RISK" means you must verify your specific 10-digit HTS code. Use our HTS Classifier to identify your code, then check the CBP ADCVD portal.
Finding the rate that applies to your specific goods, from your specific manufacturer, requires navigating several official databases. Here is the recommended process:
AD/CVD orders reference specific HTS codes. You need the full 10-digit code to search accurately. Use our HTS Classifier or the USITC's online tariff schedule at hts.usitc.gov if you do not have it.
Go to cbp.gov/trade/adcvd and search by HTS code and country of origin. This shows active orders and current cash deposit rates. Note the case number for each order you find.
Using the case number, search Commerce's ACCESS database at access.trade.gov. Under "Orders/Suspensions," you can find the most recent Final Results for your case, which list company-specific rates. Search for your manufacturer's name to find their rate.
The most recent Administrative Review or Sunset Review publishes cash deposit instructions. Check the Federal Register (federalregister.gov) for the most recent notice in your case. This is the rate CBP will collect at entry.
Our Landed Cost Calculator applies active AD/CVD rates automatically, stacked with MFN, Section 301, and Section 232 duties. Enter your HTS code and origin country to see a complete picture in seconds — no manual database searching required.
USTradeStack's AI automatically applies all duty layers — MFN base rate, Section 301 (China), Section 232 (steel/aluminum), and active AD/CVD orders — in a single calculation. Try the Landed Cost Calculator →
AD/CVD duties are the most dangerous unknown cost in importing because they are retroactive, company-specific, and often discovered only after a large purchase is already in transit. Here are the risks every importer must understand:
Asking your supplier "are there AD/CVD duties on this?" is insufficient. Suppliers may not know, may be incorrect, or may be misrepresenting the origin. The legal obligation to pay AD/CVD falls on the US importer of record — not the foreign seller. Use official CBP and Commerce databases, and consider engaging a licensed customs broker for any significant purchase.
USTradeStack screens suppliers for AD/CVD exposure, calculates landed cost including all duty layers, and runs compliance checks — so you are never surprised at the border.