Direct answer: An AD/CVD cash-deposit rate is the estimated antidumping (AD) or countervailing (CVD) duty an importer must post to U.S. Customs at the time of entry, expressed as a percentage of the entered value. It is an estimate — not the final bill — because the United States assesses these duties retrospectively.
What the cash deposit actually is
When the U.S. Department of Commerce issues an antidumping or countervailing duty order, it sets a rate for each covered exporter or producer and orders importers to post security on every covered entry. The statute is explicit that the deposit is keyed to that rate:
"the administering authority shall order the posting of a cash deposit, bond, or other security … for each entry of the subject merchandise in an amount based on the estimated weighted average dumping margin or the estimated all-others rate, whichever is applicable" — 19 U.S.C. 1673d(c)(1)(B)(ii)
So the cash-deposit rate is the percentage Customs collects up front, against the day a final figure is settled. It is collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at entry, and it is owed by the importer of record — not the foreign exporter.
Why it's only an estimate: the retrospective system
The single most important fact about AD/CVD duties is that the cash deposit is not the final liability. The United States is one of the few countries that determines the real duty after the goods are already in the country:
"Unlike the systems of some other countries, the United States uses a 'retrospective' assessment system under which final liability for antidumping and countervailing duties is determined after merchandise is imported." — 19 CFR 351.212(a)
In practice that means: you deposit the estimated rate at entry; later, Commerce conducts an administrative review of a completed period; and the review sets the actual rate for those entries. If the final rate is higher than your deposit, CBP bills you the difference, with interest. If it's lower, you get a refund, with interest. The gap between the deposit and the final assessment is the hidden risk that catches importers who treat the deposit as a closed cost.
| Cash-deposit rate | Final assessed rate | |
|---|---|---|
| When set | Before entry (current order/review) | After entry (administrative review of the period) |
| Set by | Commerce; collected by CBP | Commerce (administrative review) |
| What it is | An estimate posted as security | The actual duty owed |
| If they differ | — | Difference billed or refunded, with interest |
Which rate applies to you
A single order usually contains several rates. Individually-investigated exporters receive their own exporter-specific rate. Suppliers that were not separately investigated generally fall to a fallback — the all-others rate, a separate rate, or, for non-market-economy cases, a country-wide entity rate. The all-others rate is defined by statute as a weighted average of the individually-investigated margins, excluding zero, de minimis, and facts-available margins:
"the estimated all-others rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated weighted average dumping margins established for exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero and de minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely under section 1677e of this title" — 19 U.S.C. 1673d(c)(5)(A)
The difference between an exporter-specific rate and the all-others rate is frequently large — a named exporter may carry a low-single-digit rate while the all-others rate runs double digits. That gap is why your exporter, not just your product, determines your cash deposit. (See How to check if your supplier is subject to AD/CVD.)
What this means for importers
Three practical consequences follow:
- It's a cash-flow line, not a sunk cost. Because the final rate can rise in review, the prudent treatment is to accrue for the gap between the deposit and a plausible final rate — not to book the deposit as the whole liability.
- The rate is a moving target. Administrative reviews can raise or lower the deposit rate for future entries. A rate that was right last quarter may be wrong this quarter.
- The exporter is half the answer. Two importers bringing in the identical product from the identical country can post very different deposits depending on which exporter shipped it.
AD/CVD also stacks: it is assessed on top of the regular tariff, so a product with a 0% most-favored-nation rate can still face a large AD or CVD cash deposit.
Sources
- 19 U.S.C. 1673d — Final determinations; cash deposit and all-others rate. U.S. Code, Legal Information Institute.
- 19 CFR 351.212 — Assessment of antidumping and countervailing duties (retrospective system). Legal Information Institute.
- U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration — Antidumping and Countervailing Duties.
- AD/CVD orders and rates are published in the Federal Register.