Methodology
Why you can trust the number — and where to check it
AD/CVD exposure is high-stakes and the public data is scattered across hundreds of Federal Register notices. ImportSentry assembles that data into a single screen you can act on — but accuracy is the product, so the way we build it matters as much as the answer. Here is how the dataset behind the screener is sourced and verified.
Primary-source grounding
Every rate traces to a primary U.S. Federal Register record — the official notices in which the Department of Commerce (International Trade Administration) publishes antidumping and countervailing duty determinations. We do not paraphrase secondary trackers. Each result links to the exact document, so you and your broker read the same source we did.
Event-sourced current rates
An AD/CVD order's rates change over time through administrative reviews. Rather than freeze a single snapshot, we event-source each case's history and surface the most recent determination, with its effective date and whether it is a final or preliminary result.
Confidence scoring — and withholding
Rates are extracted with a confidence score from the structure of the source document. Anything below our confidence floor is flagged and withheld — shown as 'rate withheld, confirm with your broker' rather than displayed as a number. We would rather show you nothing than show you a number we are not confident in, because a wrong duty answer is a six-figure liability.
A verification pass on every refresh
Each dataset refresh runs a verification layer: it re-checks citation integrity, screens for internally inconsistent or implausible rates, and audits a sample of extractions against the primary Federal Register text. The pass reports what it could and could not confirm; low-confidence and unconfirmed extractions stay flagged rather than being silently trusted.
Origin-neutral, supplier-agnostic
We do not sell sourcing, represent exporters, or earn more when an answer points one way. The screener reports what the record says about your product and origin — nothing else rides on the result.
Decision-support, not legal advice
ImportSentry narrows the question and shows you the source. It does not replace your licensed customs broker or trade counsel, who make the final determination of scope and the operative cash-deposit rate at entry. Treat every result as a starting point for that conversation.
Who builds it
ImportSentry is built by the team behind Kantor Materials' trade-intelligence engine, which works with primary trade and customs data daily. We bring that discipline — primary sourcing, verification, and honest scoping — to AD/CVD exposure for U.S. importers.