In principle, the Commerce Department investigates all the known exporters of the merchandise being investigated. In many cases, however, such a comprehensive investigation is not possible and it must limit its investigation to so-called mandatory respondents, the particular foreign exporters chosen to respond.

 

Usually, the two or three largest exporters from each country are selected to be mandatory respondents. The precise number varies, based on the number of countries involved in the particular case, the number of exporters per country, and the overall workload level at the Commerce Department. The number of exporters examined can represent as little as 20% of total exports if there is a very large number of exporters. United States law also allows the Commerce Department to conduct sampling to decide which specific exporters to investigate, but this option is rarely employed.

 

Exporters not selected have two options. In a market economy case, the most common choice is to celebrate: most exporters are quite happy to be spared the burden of responding to the Commerce Department questionnaires. Particularly if you think your company's dumping margin is no different to anyone else's, you may be quite content to receive the 'all others rate' - the dumping margin announced for all those exporters not specifically investigated.

 

The outlook for exporters in non-market economy cases is different because the Commerce Department does not apply an 'all others rate' rule to companies that do not participate at a I. Exporters in non.n arleet economy countries must submit sufficient responses demonstrating that export activities are not controlled by the government and that therefore they are entitled to 'separate rate status' in order to avoid having a punitive 'Countrywide rate' assigned to their exports. Non market economy exporters should refer to chapter 6 for a further discussion Of their options under the Commerce. Department's non-market economy (NME) anti-dumping methodology.

 

The other option for market economy exporters not selected to respond to the Commerce Department's questionnaire is to request to become a so-called voluntary respondent„ The Commerce Department regulations envisage that some companies may feel that their own situation is different - that they are not dumping, even if others may be dumping and allows foreign exporters to request to participate, Depending on the Circumstances, Commerce Department may be more or less sympathetic to accepting voluntary respondents. The regulations give. Commerce. Department wide discretion to accept them if it can, but to reject than if the workload is too much.

 

Source: Business Guide to Trade Remedies in the United States: Anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguards legislation practices and procedures