Information regarding the antidumping and countervailing duty petitions on Fresh Mushrooms from Canada

The Petitions

On September 16, 2025, the Fresh Mushrooms Fair Trade Coalition and its individual members (collectively, "Petitioners") filed antidumping duty ("AD") and countervailing duty ("CVD") petitions on imports of fresh mushrooms from Canada. The AD petition alleges that imports of fresh mushrooms from Canada are being sold in the United States at less than fair value (that is, "dumped"). The CVD petition alleges that the Government of Canada is providing countervailable subsidies with respect to the manufacture, production, and export of fresh mushrooms. Petitioners allege that the domestic industry has been materially injured and is threatened with further material injury by the subject imports.

1. Petitioners have defined the products covered by the AD/CVD petitions as follows:

The merchandise covered by these investigations is fresh mushrooms of the genus Agaricus ("fresh mushrooms"). This includes — but is not limited to — fresh mushrooms of the species Agaricus bisporus, which are commonly referred to as button mushrooms, chestnut mushrooms, cremini or crimini mushrooms, baby bellas, portabella or portobello mushrooms, table mushrooms, or as white or browns. Fresh mushrooms include whole mushrooms, as well as mushrooms that have been sliced, diced, or separated into stems and pieces prior to importation. Fresh mushrooms may also be imported in bulk or loose form, or may be imported in individual containers packaged for retail sale. The scope of these investigations includes all fresh mushrooms of the genus Agaricus, whether or not organic, and irrespective of age, cut, color, size, species, or packaging.

Subject merchandise may be cleaned, washed, inspected, subjected to metal detection, sliced, diced, or de-stemmed, and/or vacuum cooled prior to importation, but otherwise undergoes minimal further processing. The scope of these investigations covers fresh mushrooms of the genus Agaricus regardless of end use, including both mushrooms destined for the fresh market and mushrooms intended for food processing.

Fresh mushrooms of the genus Agaricus are currently classifiable under HTSUS statistical reporting number 0709.51.0100. Although the HTSUS statistical reporting number is provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope of these investigations is dispositive.

2. Petitioners allege the following quantities and values of the subject imports for calendar years 2022 – 2024 and first two quarters of 2025, which reflect imports made only under HTS subheading 0709.51.0100:

Overview of AD/CVD proceedings

There are two phases – preliminary and final – of AD and CVD investigations. The Department of Commerce ("DOC") will determine whether imports of fresh mushrooms from Canada were dumped in the United States and establish the AD rates that will be imposed on imports. DOC will also determine whether the Government of Canada subsidized exports of fresh mushrooms to the United States and establish the CVD rates that will be imposed. The International Trade Commission ("ITC") will determine whether imports of the subject merchandise are materially injuring, or threaten to materially injure, the domestic mushroom industry.

In order for final AD and CVD to be imposed, both agencies must issue "affirmative" findings. We discuss below the steps involved in reaching such findings.

A. DOC Dumping Investigation

By October 6, 2025, DOC must decide whether the AD petition contains the legally required information regarding Petitioners' standing, dumping, and injury to warrant initiating an investigation. The standard for initiation is low, requiring only that the AD petition contain information that is "reasonably available" to Petitioners. Consequently, we expect DOC will initiate the AD investigation by the October 6 deadline.

DOC will issue an AD questionnaire to, and calculate a dumping rate for, one or more producers in Canada. These producers are referred to as "mandatory respondents." The decision of which producers will receive the questionnaire will be based on export volumes. DOC could choose only one Canadian producer to respond to the questionnaire if it is possible to account for 80%-85% of exports with just one producer. If not, DOC will choose two or more Canadian producers.

The companies that are selected as mandatory respondents will receive AD rates based on their actual data. If a company refuses to respond to the AD questionnaire, it will be assigned a dumping rate based on "adverse facts available" ("AFA"), which is a punitive rate, typically based on the dumping rate calculated in the petition. The dumping rates calculated in the petition range as follows:

All other Canadian producers (other than those that are issued the questionnaire) will be subject to the "All Others" Rate, which normally is calculated as the weighted average of the rates assigned to the mandatory respondents in Canada.

The AD questionnaire will request detailed information regarding US sales and home-market sales of fresh mushrooms (transaction-specific prices, direct selling expenses, movement expenses, etc.) and production costs during the period of investigation ("POI"), which will be the period of July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025. DOC will also issue one or more supplemental questionnaires to clarify information reported in the initial response. The burden of responding to the questionnaires is significantly increased if:  (1) companies affiliated with the mandatory respondent also produce and/or sell the subject merchandise in Canada; and/or (2) key inputs used to produce the subject merchandise are purchased from affiliated suppliers.

Within 140 days after the AD investigation is initiated (we estimate by February 23, 2026), DOC must make a preliminary determination of whether dumping exists and, if so, the estimated dumping margin for each company investigated (DOC can, and often does, postpone the preliminary determination for an additional 50 days). If DOC makes an affirmative preliminary determination, Customs and Border Protection ("CBP") will suspend liquidation of entries of fresh mushrooms from Canada and require importers to provide AD cash deposits equal to the preliminary dumping margin calculated for the exporter multiplied by the entered value of the merchandise. Normally, the suspension of liquidation begins on the date DOC's preliminary determination is published in the Federal Register. However, if DOC and the ITC find "critical circumstances," the suspension can apply retroactively to imports made 90 days before the preliminary determination is published.

DOC personnel normally visit the mandatory respondents' offices to verify the accuracy of the information provided in the questionnaire responses. This is normally done after the preliminary determination. If the questionnaire responses are incomplete or their accuracy cannot be verified, DOC will calculate dumping margins based on AFA, which normally means DOC will accept the dumping margins calculated by Petitioners. The verification is one of the most difficult aspects of the AD investigation.

Within 75 days after the preliminary determination, DOC will issue a final AD determination (as with the preliminary determination, DOC can, and often does, postpone this deadline for an additional 60 days). DOC's final decision is based on the verified information, public hearings, and briefs submitted by counsel involved in the case. If a zero-dumping finding is made, or only "de minimis" dumping margins (i.e., less than 2.00%) are found, the investigation ends. If DOC's final AD determination is affirmative, the case proceeds to the ITC for a final injury determination. DOC will also instruct CBP to continue to suspend liquidation of entries of fresh mushrooms from Canada and require AD cash deposits at the final dumping margins determined for each exporter. Individual companies receiving zero or de minimis rates are excluded from the AD order (if issued).

B. DOC Subsidy Investigation

As with the dumping investigation, DOC must decide whether the CVD petition contains the legally required information regarding Petitioners' standing, subsidies, and injury to warrant initiating an investigation by October 6, 2025.

DOC will then issue CVD questionnaires to the companies selected for investigation from Canada, as well as to the Government of Canada. Typically, DOC chooses the two or three largest foreign exporters to respond to the questionnaire. Again, these are referred to as "mandatory respondents." The CVD questionnaire will seek information about the alleged subsidies for the POI (the most recently completed fiscal year – that is, 2024), as well as for prior years. DOC will likely issue one or more supplemental questionnaires seeking clarification or additional information.

Within 65 days after the CVD investigation is initiated (we estimate by December 10, 2025), DOC must make a preliminary determination of whether subsidization exists and, if so, the estimated CVD rate for each company investigated (DOC can, and often does, postpone the preliminary determination for an additional 65 days). If DOC makes an affirmative preliminary determination, CBP will (as in the dumping investigation) suspend liquidation of entries of fresh mushrooms from Canada and require importers to provide CVD cash deposits equal to the preliminary CVD rate calculated for the exporter multiplied by the entered value of the merchandise. Normally, the suspension of liquidation begins on the date DOC's preliminary determination is published in the Federal Register. As with AD, if there are "critical circumstances," the suspension can apply retroactively to imports made 90 days before the preliminary determination is published.

As in the dumping context above, DOC personnel will visit the mandatory respondents' offices to verify the accuracy of the information provided in the CVD questionnaire responses. DOC will also conduct on-site verifications of the information reported by the Government of Canada.

Within 75 days after the preliminary determination, DOC will issue a final CVD determination. DOC's final decision is based on the verified information, public hearings, and briefs submitted by counsel involved in the case. If a zero-subsidy finding is made, or only "de minimis" subsidy rates (i.e., less than 1.00%) are found, the investigation ends. If DOC's final determination is affirmative, the case proceeds to the ITC for a final injury determination. DOC will also instruct CBP to continue to suspend liquidation of entries of fresh mushrooms from Canada and require CVD cash deposits at the final subsidy rates determined for each exporter. Individual companies receiving zero or de minimis subsidy rates are excluded from the order.

C. ITC Injury Investigation

The ITC will make a preliminary determination of injury by no later than October 31, 2025. The preliminary investigation will move very quickly. The legal standard that ITC must apply in reaching its preliminary determination is very low. Essentially, the ITC must issue an affirmative preliminary injury determination unless it is clear that the US industry is not being injured or is not threatened with injury. Any doubt requires ITC to continue the investigation. Because this standard is so low, it is extremely difficult to terminate an investigation at the preliminary stage. In the final injury investigation, ITC has considerably more time to conduct its investigation and consider the facts and arguments presented by the parties. The legal standard is also higher in the final phase. Therefore, foreign producers are more likely to succeed at the final stage of ITC's investigation than at the preliminary stage. Nevertheless, it can be advantageous for foreign producers and importers to participate in the preliminary phase of the investigation so they can frame themes and issues for the ITC's consideration in the final phase.

The ITC will base its preliminary injury determination primarily on information received in responses to the questionnaires sent to US producers, US importers, and foreign producers. Typically, the ITC circulates these questionnaires to parties within two to three business days of the filing of the petition (around September 18 – 19, 2025); and sets the deadline for them a week before the Staff Conference, discussed below (around September 30, 2025). It is important that foreign producers timely submit responses. Otherwise, ITC likely will accept Petitioners' allegations, resulting in an automatic affirmative preliminary determination.

ITC Staff will conduct a conference around October 7, 2025. At the Staff Conference, interested parties will have an opportunity to present oral testimony and answer ITC Staff's questions. Afterwards, parties will have an opportunity to present written arguments (and supporting exhibits) in post-conference briefs, which will be due around October 13, 2025.

In the final phase, the ITC conducts a more thorough investigation, with a much higher standard of injury. For the final phase, the ITC crafts more detailed questionnaires for issuance to US producers, US importers, and foreign producers, as well as (unlike in the preliminary phase) for issuance to US purchasers. Before issuing the questionnaires, ITC Staff circulates draft questionnaires for the parties' comments, which is an important opportunity to ensure the questionnaires solicit information needed to support the defense. After issuing and receiving responses to the questionnaires, ITC Staff prepares a report summarizing and discussing the information and data reported in the questionnaire responses, as well as information compiled from the preliminary phase of the investigation and ITC Staff's independent research. The ITC Staff Report is important because it is a key document relied upon by the Commissioners in evaluating whether the US industry is materially injured or threatened with material injury because of the subject imports.

After issuance of the ITC Staff report, parties have approximately one week to submit briefs ("prehearing briefs") presenting their arguments supporting or opposing an affirmative determination of material injury (or threat thereof). Normally one week after the deadline for prehearing briefs, the ITC holds a public hearing at which the Commissioners (i.e., the decision makers) preside. During the hearing, both sides – Petitioners in support of AD/CVD and the foreign producers and US importers/purchasers opposed to AD/CVD – will each have one hour to make an affirmative presentation, followed by a question-and-answer session with the Commissioners. For the defense, in particular, it is critical that industry witnesses (such as importers and US purchasers) opposed to the imposition of AD/CVD participate and testify at the ITC hearing. After the hearing, the parties have approximately one week to prepare "posthearing briefs," which typically focus on rebutting the other side's arguments and answering specific questions raised by the Commissioners at the hearing. Several days before the date of the ITC's scheduled vote, parties have one last opportunity to submit final comments in the case. Unlike the preliminary phase, which takes place over the course of approximately six weeks, the final phase normally takes place over the course of approximately four months.

Calendar of proceedings

The table below provides key deadlines* for the AD and CVD proceedings. These dates assume full extensions of the statutory deadlines and "alignment" of the final AD and CVD determinations.

* Please note dates are approximate. To the extent a deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, the event will usually occur the preceding or next business day.

_{1 Note, however, that this date can be 90 days earlier if "critical circumstances" apply. See infra p. 4.
2 Note, however, that this date can be 90 days earlier if "critical circumstances" apply. See infra p. 3.}

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