Trade Agreements Act of 1979

It made transaction value, the price actually paid or payable plus certain additions, the primary basis of US customs valuation from July 1, 1980. It rewrote antidumping and countervailing duty law with fixed investigation deadlines, administered by Commerce and the ITC. Its government procurement title requires federal agencies buying under covered contracts, such as GSA schedules, to purchase US-made or designated-country end products, using substantial transformation to determine origin.

This law sets how duty is calculated on almost every US import: transaction value means the invoice price plus items such as assists, royalties and some commissions, so declared value must match what the buyer actually pays. A brand buying from its own overseas affiliate must be able to show the price was not influenced by the relationship. Its procurement rules also matter to 3PLs serving government buyers, because products sold through GSA contracts must come from compliant countries, which excludes China.

• Antidumping DutyADExtra duty on goods sold below fair value
• Commercial InvoiceSeller's invoice that customs uses
• Country of OriginCountry where goods were made

• Tokyo Round1973–1979 · GATT talks add the first codes on non-tariff barriers

• WTO Customs Valuation Agreement1994, in force 1995 · WTO rules on how customs value is calculated
• Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA)2016 · CBP process to investigate antidumping duty evasion

1. 19 U.S.C. Chapter 13, Multilateral Trade Agreements law.cornell.edu
2. H.R. 4537, Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (Congress.gov) congress.gov