Tariff and trade-compliance glossary.

AD/CVD is shorthand for the combined antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) regime administered by the Commerce Department and the US International Trade Commission.

An antidumping duty (AD) is an extra import duty imposed on a specific product from a specific country when the Commerce Department determines that the foreign producer is selling the product in the US at less than fair value and the US International Trade Commission determines that domestic industry is materially injured.

A cash deposit rate is the AD or CVD rate that an importer must pay (or secure with a bond) at the time of entry on a product subject to an active AD/CVD order.

CBP CSMS is the email-based operational-guidance channel used by US Customs and Border Protection to communicate with the trade community.

A Cease and Desist Order in the Section 337 context is a USITC remedy that prohibits a named respondent from selling, marketing, or distributing infringing articles already imported into the United States.

CIF value is an Incoterms valuation basis equal to the cost of the goods plus international insurance plus international freight to the US port of arrival.

A countervailing duty (CVD) is an extra import duty imposed on a specific product from a specific country when the Commerce Department determines that the foreign government is subsidizing the producer and the US ITC determines that domestic industry is materially injured.

A customs entry is the filing made with CBP that declares an import shipment, claims a classification, and pays (or commits to pay) the applicable duties.

An entry summary (CBP Form 7501) is the post-release filing that finalizes the customs entry.

The Federal Register is the daily journal of the US federal government, published by the National Archives, that contains agency rules, proposed rules, notices, and presidential documents.

A General Exclusion Order is the broadest remedy available in a Section 337 investigation at the US International Trade Commission.

An HTS code is a 10-digit number that identifies a product for US import duty purposes.

The HTSUS is the official US import tariff publication maintained by the US International Trade Commission.

IEEPA grants the President broad authority to regulate international commerce in response to a declared national emergency.

KORUS is the free-trade agreement between the United States and South Korea, in force since March 2012 and modernized in 2018.

A Limited Exclusion Order is a Section 337 remedy at the US International Trade Commission that excludes infringing articles imported by specifically named respondents.

Liquidation is the final CBP determination of the duty, tax, and fee owed on an import entry.

MFN is the standard import duty rate the US applies to goods from any country with which it maintains Normal Trade Relations (NTR), which is the same set of countries in practice.

Normal Trade Relations is the modern US legal term for what was historically called Most-Favored-Nation status.

A Protest under 19 USC §1514 is a formal challenge to a CBP decision — most commonly a liquidation decision an importer disputes.

A Post Summary Correction (PSC) is a filing that amends a previously-filed entry-summary before liquidation.

Schedule B is the US export classification system maintained by the Census Bureau.

Section 122 is a statutory tariff authority allowing the President to impose a temporary tariff of up to 15% on imports to address balance-of-payments deficits.

Section 232 authorizes the President to impose tariffs on imports that the Commerce Department determines threaten US national security.

Section 301 authorizes the US Trade Representative to impose tariffs on goods from a country found to engage in unfair trade practices.

Section 301 exclusions are temporary product-specific carve-outs from the Section 301 China tariffs, granted by USTR through an application process.

Section 301 four-year review is the statutory process under which USTR re-examines existing Section 301 tariff actions every four years.

Section 337 authorizes the US International Trade Commission to investigate and remedy unfair acts in the importation of articles into the United States — most commonly patent infringement.

The USITC is an independent federal agency that maintains the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) and conducts a range of trade-related investigations, including injury determinations in AD/CVD cases and Section 337 patent-infringement cases.

USMCA is the free-trade agreement among the United States, Mexico, and Canada that replaced NAFTA in July 2020.

USTR is the executive-branch agency responsible for developing and recommending US trade policy and conducting trade negotiations.