Definition[]
Unfair trade practices refers generally to any fraudulent, deceptive, or dishonest trade practice that is prohibited by statute, regulation, or the common law.
International law[]
The United States and many of its trading partners have established laws to remedy the unfair trade practices of other countries and foreign companies that cause injury to domestic industries. U.S. law authorizes the imposition of anti-dumping and countervailing (AD/CV) duties to remedy these unfair trade practices, namely dumping (i.e., sales at less than normal value) and foreign government subsidies. The U.S. AD/CV duty system is retrospective, in that importers pay estimated AD/CV duties at the time of importation, but the final amount of duties is not determined until later. By contrast, other major U.S. trading partners have AD/CV duty systems that, although different from one another, are fundamentally prospective in that AD/CV duties assessed at the time a product enters the country are essentially treated as final.