"US Import Restrictions Partially Eased... Need to Monitor Legislative Trends on China Containment"

New Import Regulation Investigations Down 70% Compared to Trump Administration
Increased Corporate Burden Amid Strengthened Regulations to Curb China

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hye-young] Although the Biden administration's import regulation policies have been somewhat relaxed compared to the previous administration, there is an analysis that legislative trends should be closely monitored as efforts to counter China are increasing.

According to the "One Year of the Biden Administration: Operation and Outlook of the U.S. Trade Remedy System" report released on the 25th by the Korea International Trade Association's International Trade and Commerce Research Institute, the total number of new investigations initiated for trade remedy measures such as anti-dumping, countervailing duties, and safeguards against foreign companies during the first year of the Biden administration was 35 cases. This represents a decrease of more than 70% compared to 120 cases in 2020.

In particular, the use of problematic investigation methods that increase anti-dumping duty rates on export companies has slowed compared to the Trump administration.

A representative measure is the application of the Particular Market Situation (PMS). The application of PMS in the U.S. expanded significantly in terms of exporting countries and product groups from 1 case in 2017 to 10 cases in 2020, but last year it was applied in only 2 out of 21 filed cases. Although Korean steel products were frequently subject to PMS regulations, last year showed a relaxed trend where PMS was recognized in preliminary determinations but dismissed in final rulings.

However, the report analyzed that the U.S. could tighten import regulations again at any time and that preparations are necessary.

The report explained, "Although the practice of applying PMS has slowed, the investigation method itself has not been abolished, and PMS recognition could increase at any time. Recently, cases where Korea's carbon emissions trading system is recognized as a subsidy in countervailing duty investigations have increased, adding to the burden on companies to respond."

The U.S. is revising related laws and systems to enhance the effectiveness of trade remedy measures and regulations. In February, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "Competition Bill," which includes strong countervailing measures against China, such as provisions targeting products using subsidized Chinese raw materials (cross-border subsidies) and provisions responding to artificial currency adjustments (currency undervaluation). Additionally, through the amended anti-dumping and countervailing duty rules last year, investigation procedures are expected to be improved for more effective enforcement.

Kim Kyung-hwa, senior researcher at the Korea International Trade Association, said, "Since the Competition Bill must go through reconciliation between the House and Senate, it is difficult to predict how much of the trade remedy amendments will be reflected in the final bill. However, as the U.S. Congress is responding in a bipartisan manner to the goal of countering China, legislative revisions to strengthen the trade remedy system will continue. Active cooperation between the public and private sectors is necessary to monitor U.S. trade remedy legislative trends and investigation authority practices and to seek response measures."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.