Trade remedies are tactics such as imposing additional duties, quotas, prohibitions on imports or other methods that government organizations use to counteract unfair trade practices.

What is a trade remedy?

Trade remedies are tactics that the government (through organizations such as CBP, DOC, USTR, etc.) can utilize to make it more difficult for companies to import. The government uses these “remedies” to counteract unfair trade practices by imposing additional duties, quotas, prohibitions on imports or other methods.

While there are many different types of remedies available, the three most common are:

1. Dumping, which refers to selling goods in an export market at an unfairly low price as compared to what that product would sell at in the home market.
2. Countervailing measures, which refers to selling goods in an export market at an unfairly low price due to subsidies and other incentives provided by the government of the country of manufacture.
3. Safeguards, which refers to the temporary prohibiting of importing of a good in the case of the import market being injured or threatened by the import of that product

There are several other types of trade remedy strategies available to be used, including:

1. Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 (currently on Solar Cells and Panels, and Washing Machines and Parts)
2. Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (currently on Aluminum, Steel and Derivatives)
3. Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (currently on Products from China & Large Civil Aircraft from the EU)