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Trade remedies in Chile: antidumping and countervailing duties, safeguards, the Antidistortions Commission and price bands

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Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Stable

Chile can add antidumping or countervailing duties to imports sold at artificially low prices that cause or threaten serious harm to local producers, for up to one year, and safeguard surcharges when import surges cause serious injury, for up to two years and four years in total. Measures are imposed by Ministry of Finance decree only after a report of the Antidistortions Commission, chaired by the National Economic Prosecutor, which must publish the start of an investigation within 5 business days, take evidence for 30 days and decide within 90 days, and can ask for provisional duties at any stage. In 2024 provisional antidumping duties of up to 24.9 percent were applied to Chinese steel bars for grinding balls; wheat, wheat flour and sugar are also subject to a price band of specific duties and rebates.

USD figures use the Central Bank exchange rate of CLP 986.58 per US dollar published in the Diario Oficial for 23 October 2026. UTM based amounts use the October 2026 UTM of CLP 72,151 and UF amounts the UF of CLP 41,205.16 for 23 October 2026, both published by the SII. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Maximum duration of antidumping and countervailing duties	1 yearsDFL Nº 31 of 2004 art. 8, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum duration of a safeguard, including extension	2 years initially, 4 years in total textDFL Nº 31 of 2004 art. 7, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Investigating body	Antidistortions Commission chaired by the National Economic Prosecutor; Central Bank as technical secretariat textDFL Nº 31 of 2004 art. 9, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Commission decision deadline from publication of the investigation notice	90 daysDFL Nº 31 of 2004 art. 9, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Deadline to claim refund of provisional measures	90 daysDFL Nº 31 of 2004 art. 9, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Products under the price band	Wheat, wheat flour and sugar textDFL Nº 31 of 2004 art. 10, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Antidumping and countervailing duties may be imposed on imports whose entry causes serious current or imminent harm to national production because they arrive at prices lowered by artificial effects in their markets. The President of the Republic sets the goods, amount and duration of these duties, which cannot exceed one year, after a report of the Antidistortions Commission.
Cost to do it: An additional ad valorem duty on the affected goods, on top of the general duty, for up to one year.Decreto con Fuerza de Ley Nº 31 of 2004, Ministerio de Hacienda, consolidated text of Ley Nº 18.525 on imports, Art. 8, 2005-04-22 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. When the conditions of Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on Safeguards are met, the President may impose ad valorem tariff surcharges by Ministry of Finance supreme decree after a favourable Commission report. Provisional surcharges may be applied when the Commission finds the conditions of article 6 of the Agreement on Safeguards, within 30 days of the start of the investigation. Investigations start on a written request of the affected domestic industry or on the Commission's own initiative. A safeguard may last up to two years including the provisional period, and may be extended while the causes persist, for a total of no more than four years; measures longer than a year are reviewed every year. A surcharge that, added to the applied tariff, exceeds Chile's WTO bound rate needs the approval of three quarters of the Commission's members.
Cost to do it: An ad valorem surcharge for up to two years, extendable to four in total.Decreto con Fuerza de Ley Nº 31 of 2004, Ministerio de Hacienda, consolidated text of Ley Nº 18.525 on imports, as amended by Ley Nº 20.514, Art. 7, 2011-06-22 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. The Antidistortions Commission is chaired by the National Economic Prosecutor and includes two Central Bank representatives, representatives of the Ministers of Finance, Agriculture, Economy and Foreign Affairs, and the National Director of Customs; the Central Bank acts as its technical secretariat. It hears complaints about price distortions and complaints under the WTO agreements on subsidies, safeguards and antidumping, and can investigate on its own initiative. It must publish notice of the start and subject of an investigation in the Diario Oficial within 5 business days of a complaint, receive the parties' evidence for 30 days from that notice, hear interested parties on request, and decide within 90 days of the notice, by majority with the chair's casting vote. A complaint must state the distortion and how it causes significant current or imminent harm to national production.
Cost to do it: No filing fee is set in the law; the cost is preparing the complaint, the injury evidence and legal representation.Decreto con Fuerza de Ley Nº 31 of 2004, Ministerio de Hacienda, consolidated text of Ley Nº 18.525 on imports, Art. 9, 2005-04-22 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. At any stage of the investigation the Commission may ask the President, through the Minister of Finance, to impose provisional surcharges, antidumping or countervailing duties or minimum customs values within 60 days; they last until the final decision and apply to declarations accepted while they are in force. If the Commission finally finds no distortion or no serious harm, or if the final measure is lower or not imposed, importers can recover what they paid, with interest, but must claim within 90 days from when the refund became due or lose the right.
Cost to do it: Provisional duties are paid at import and may be refundable.Decreto con Fuerza de Ley Nº 31 of 2004, Ministerio de Hacienda, consolidated text of Ley Nº 18.525 on imports, Art. 9, 2005-04-22 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. In 2024 the Ministry of Finance applied provisional antidumping duties on imports from China of forged steel grinding balls under 4 inches in diameter (tariff code 7326.1111), at 9.2 to 22.5 percent depending on the producer (22.5 percent for producers not named, two producers excluded), by Exempt Decree Nº 130 published on 27 March 2024 for no more than four months, and on steel bars to make those balls (tariff code 7228.3000), which Exempt Decree Nº 162 published on 20 April 2024 set at 24.9 percent, for no more than 6 months from 27 March 2024. The decrees were issued under article 8 of DFL Nº 31 and the Antidistortions Regulation, Supreme Decree Nº 1.314 of 2013 of the Ministry of Finance.
Cost to do it: 24.9 percent of customs value on top of the general duty for the steel bars covered, during the provisional period.
Example: On CLP 98,658,000 of covered steel bars, the provisional duty was CLP 24,565,842 in addition to the 6 percent general duty of CLP 5,919,480. / US$24,900 on US$100,000 of covered bars, plus US$6,000 of general duty.Ministerio de Hacienda Decreto Exento Nº 162 of 2024, Decree Nº 1 and Nº 2, 2024-04-20 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. Specific duties in US dollars per tariff unit, and rebates on the ad valorem duty, may apply to imports of wheat, wheat flour and sugar under a price band system set by Ministry of Finance supreme decree, so that international price swings do not destabilise the domestic market. Specific duties apply when a reference price falls below a floor and rebates when it exceeds a ceiling; the specific duty plus the ad valorem duty may never exceed Chile's WTO bound tariff for these goods, assessed per import on CIF value, and rebates can never exceed the ad valorem duty due. The rates applicable are those in force on the date of the cargo manifest.
Cost to do it: A variable specific duty or rebate per unit, set by decree, for wheat, wheat flour and sugar.Decreto con Fuerza de Ley Nº 31 of 2004, Ministerio de Hacienda, consolidated text of Ley Nº 18.525 on imports, as amended by Ley Nº 19.897, Art. 10, 2003-09-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Step	Deadline
Notice of start of investigation in the Diario Oficial	Within 5 business days of the complaint
Parties submit evidence	30 days from the notice
Determination for provisional safeguard	Within 30 days of the start of the investigation
Provisional measures imposed by decree after a Commission request	Within 60 days
Final decision of the Commission	Within 90 days of the notice
Claim refund of provisional measures not confirmed	Within 90 days of when the refund became due

Antidistortions Commission procedure under DFL Nº 31 of 2004 art. 7 and art. 9.

Worked example

A Chilean mining supplier imported US$100,000 (CLP 98,658,000) of Chinese steel bars for grinding balls covered by Exempt Decree Nº 162 of 2024 while the provisional measure applied. It paid the 6 percent general duty of US$6,000 (CLP 5,919,480) plus the 24.9 percent provisional antidumping duty of US$24,900 (CLP 24,565,842); had the final measure been lower or not imposed, it could have claimed the difference within 90 days (DFL Nº 31 art. 9).
A domestic producer facing an import surge files a written request with the Commission for a safeguard; if granted, the surcharge can last up to two years and, with an extension, four years in total (art. 7).

Step by step

1. Domestic producers: assemble evidence of the distortion (dumping or subsidy) or import surge and of the harm to national production, and file a written complaint with the Commission.
2. Importers and foreign exporters: watch the Diario Oficial for notices of investigations, which are published within 5 business days of a complaint.
3. Submit evidence within the 30 day period and ask for a hearing.
4. If provisional duties are imposed, pay them at import and keep records to claim a refund within 90 days if the final measure is lower or not adopted.
5. For wheat, flour or sugar, check the price band decree in force on the cargo manifest date.

Common traps

Signing long term supply contracts without a clause for trade remedy duties: provisional duties apply to any declaration accepted while they are in force.
Missing the 90 day deadline to recover provisional duties, after which the right is lost.
Assuming a trade agreement shields the goods: the 2024 measures on Chinese steel products applied despite the Chile China free trade agreement.
Expecting antidumping duties to last for years: the law caps each measure at one year.

Sources

Related: Chile country profile · live dashboard · central bank and release calendar · our posts on X · where Argentina is involved, see The Argentine Thread guide

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