A Real Scenario
You've been importing wooden bedroom furniture from China for three years. MFN rate: Free. No issues. Then one day, CBP notifies you that your shipment is subject to an AD/CVD order — and you owe 198% in anti-dumping duties. Retroactively.
This isn't hypothetical. It happens every day across 700+ active AD/CVD orders.
AD vs CVD — What's the Difference?
Anti-Dumping (AD): A foreign company is selling goods in the US below their home-market price — that's "dumping." The Department of Commerce calculates a "dumping margin," which becomes the duty rate you have to pay.
Countervailing Duty (CVD): A foreign government is subsidizing its exporters (tax breaks, low-interest loans, cheap land), making the product artificially cheap. CVD offsets that subsidy.
Both often apply simultaneously — a product is both dumped and subsidized — hence "AD/CVD."
How Rates Are Set
The Commerce Department investigates and assigns a "respondent-specific rate" to each company under review. Companies that don't cooperate get the highest rate (called "adverse facts available" — can exceed 400%).
Other companies in the same country making the same product get an "all-others rate," which is typically an average.
Key point: AD/CVD rates are tied to the product + country combination, not to your specific company.
Highest-Risk Product Categories
Based on CVDar's database of 700+ active orders, here's where importers most commonly get caught:
- Steel products: Pipe, profiles, stainless steel sinks (HTS Chapter 73) — the most cases by far
- Wooden furniture: Bedroom furniture from China/Vietnam/Malaysia — a textbook example
- Solar products: PV cells and modules — extremely high rates
- Aluminum extrusions: From China — a hot category in recent years
- Agricultural products: Garlic, honey, shrimp — China AD orders go back decades
The Real Cost
Importing wooden furniture (HTS 9403.50) from China:
| Duty Type | Rate | On $10,000 Shipment | |-----------|------|-------------------| | MFN | Free | $0 | | Section 301 | 25% | $2,500 | | AD/CVD | ~198% | $19,800 | | Total | ~223% | $22,300 |
You import $10,000 worth of furniture and owe $22,300 in duties alone. That's why you check before you ship — not after.
How to Check
Search your product name or HTS code on CVDar. The system automatically matches against 700+ AD/CVD orders, filters by your selected country of origin, and shows applicable rates and case numbers.