Commerce Issues Uniform AD/CVD Filing Extension Policy, Shortens Deadlines
The Commerce Department recently set a new uniform policy regarding filing deadline extensions in antidumping duty and countervailing duty proceedings, shortening the time parties get for extensions to initial and supplemental questionnaires, according to an internal memo we obtained.
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For initial questionnaires in AD/CVD investigations and administrative reviews, Commerce will only allow an additional week extension per deadline, and, if a second extension request is filed, the agency will allow only three additional calendar days.
Regarding supplemental questionnaires in AD/CVD cases, questionnaires with 20 questions or fewer, "counting subparts as individual questions," will be given an initial one-week deadline. An additional one-week extension will be allowed, and second extension requests will only be granted up to three additional calendar days.
Supplemental questionnaires with over 20 questions will be given an initial deadline of 10 days. As with the smaller supplemental questionnaires, a first extension may be granted up to one week, and a second extension may be granted up to three calendar days.
For government responses in CVD investigations and reviews, a first extension request for Section II of an initial questionnaire "should be granted an additional 10 calendar days," while a second extension may be granted for an additional five calendar days. Supplemental questionnaires with less than 20 questions start with a 10-calendar-day deadline then follow the one-week, three-day extension pattern. Supplemental questionnaires with over 20 questions start with a 13-day deadline, then follow the one-week, three-day pattern.
The guidance said "Office Directors must sign off on all first and second extensions," and that in the "rare situation" where a third extension is being considered, the office director must consult with the deputy assistant secretary for operations. The current acting deputy assistant secretary for operations is Scott Fullerton.
Similarly, if Commerce's Office of Accounting is mulling a third extension, they must consult the deputy assistant secretary for policy, a position currently held by acting deputy assistant secretary Steven Presing.
The guidance said that analysts who feel that a given supplemental questionnaire of fewer than 20 questions warrants a 10-day initial deadline can consult with their Office Director before issuing the supplemental questionnaire. The guidance added that neither "analyst availability" nor "workload of counsel" should be taken into consideration when considering how long to grant an extension.
The new policy comes amid the Donald Trump administration's efforts to leverage AD/CVD laws to impose higher duties (see 2501280067).