Each year brings new actions by the U.S. government to protect individual sectors from imports. Antidumping duties are imposed when domestic industry is believed to be injured by the sale of imported goods at less than “fair value.” Countervailing duties are intended to counteract subsidies to foreign producers.
Safeguard actions are intended to protect a domestic industry that has been seriously injured by a surge in imports.20 As of August 2004, 359 antidumping and countervailing duty orders were in place in the United States against imports from 51 countries.21 By discouraging unfair commercial practices, such actions, in principle, promote a more stable and competitive environment for international trade.