Unfair trade practices carried out by producing or exporting companies or countries include dumping and subsidies. 

An anti-dumping duty is a customs duty applied to imports of products to restore competitive conditions distorted by dumping (Decree 1750 of 2015, Article 1). 

The Directorate of Foreign Trade may determine and order the collection of anti-dumping duties on the import of any product subject to dumping, when it is determined that it causes or threatens to cause significant harm to domestic production or delays the establishment of a production branch in Colombia. 

The amount of the duties is generally expressed as an ad-valorem percentage or by setting a base price (Decree 1750 of 2015, Article 42). 

Whenever information is available and the characteristics of the investigation allow it, the duties are calculated in such a way that their amount is sufficient to eliminate the significant harm, the threat of significant harm, or the important delay in the establishment of a production branch. 

For this purpose, the following is taken into account: 

1. The price of the imported product in the domestic market compared to the price of the domestic product.
   2. The prices at which the product is sold in the domestic market.
   3. The effect of the measures on the national market. 
   The application of an anti-dumping duty cannot be higher than the detected dumping margin. (Decree 1750 of 2015, Article 43) 

An anti-dumping duty can remain in effect for a maximum of five (5) years, unless the causes that originated it persist. The National Tax and Customs Directorate (DIAN) applies antidumping duties in accordance with legal provisions, the resolution imposing the duties, and the regulations concerning collection, guarantees, procedures, and other matters related to tariff levies. 

Under no circumstances can the investigations conducted obstruct the entry of merchandise into the national territory. 

No imported product from the same country can simultaneously be subject to both antidumping duties and countervailing duties, which aim to remedy the same situation resulting from dumping or subsidies (Decree 1750 of 2015, Article 49). 

In order to prevent damage during the investigation period, the Directorate of Foreign Trade can apply provisional duties if it reaches a preliminary conclusion that dumping exists in the imports under investigation, which causes harm to the national production sector. The Directorate carries out this action through a reasoned resolution, which is subject only to direct revocation after the investigated party has had the opportunity to exercise its defense, including completing questionnaires sent for this purpose. 

Provisional duties are applied for four months, except when specifically requested, in which case they are applied for six months. After an examination, when a duty lower than the dumping margin is sufficient to eliminate the harm, the investigating authority may apply provisional duties for six months and, at the request of the interested party, for nine months. 

The amount of provisional antidumping duties is specified in the resolution that imposes them, and applies to any importer regarding imports of the product for which it was concluded that imports were made at dumping prices that cause harm to a national production sector in Colombia. 

The resolution is published in the Official Gazette and communicated according to the form and timing established in the first paragraph of Article 28 of Decree 1750 of 2015. A copy of this resolution is sent to the National Tax and Customs Directorate (DIAN) for its relevant action. (Decree 1750 of 2015, Article 44). 

1. Merit evaluation for opening the investigation. 
2. Preliminary determination. 
3. Submission of the final report. 
4. Essential facts. 
5. Conclusion of the investigation. 

Once it is evident that the unfair practice causes or threatens to cause harm to national production or generates a significant delay in the establishment of any production in Colombia, the affected national production sector, or group of producers whose combined production constitutes a significant proportion of the total national production of such products, can request the Directorate of Foreign Trade (DCE), as the competent authority, to initiate an investigation for dumping against those imports that cause or threaten to cause harm. 

A safeguard is a temporary limitation on imports, which can take the form of a tariff or a quantitative restriction, and is applied to prevent or remedy serious harm or the threat of serious harm to a national production sector, as well as to facilitate its adjustment to competition conditions in the international market. These measures must be appropriate to facilitate the economic adjustment of the affected production sector, ensuring that the economic and social benefits outweigh the costs arising from the measure. 

A safeguard is adopted when it has been determined that imports of a certain product have increased in such quantity and under such conditions that they cause or threaten to cause serious harm to the national production sector that produces similar products or directly competing products. 

1. Receipt of compliance. 
2. Merit evaluation for opening the investigation. 
3. Investigation.
4. Adoption of the final determination.