Summary: In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the impact of certain changes made by the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 to the antidumping and countervailing duty laws. Specifically, GAO commented on the new provisions for judicial review of Department of Commerce and International Trade Commission (ITC) decisions.
A major feature of the new judicial review provisions was the appeal of certain interlocutory decisions by Commerce and ITC in antidumping and countervailing cases. GAO found that, from January 1980 through July 1983, the Court of International Trade (CIT) disposed of three matters involving two interlocutory appeals in agency determinations, which amounted to 2.2 percent of total CIT dispositions. These dispositions show that CIT issued its opinions in a timely manner and that Commerce's Office of Investigation spent minimal resources to address interlocutory appeals. Although Commerce has expressed support for legislation that would eliminate judicial review of interlocutory determinations, GAO noted that there were not a sufficient number of cases during the review period to demonstrate that interlocutory appeals would have adverse effects that Commerce anticipates.
