On September 17, 2026, Commerce issued a final affirmative determination that certain small vertical shaft engines produced in China constitute later-developed merchandise that circumvents the existing antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) Orders. This marks the third time Commerce has found Chinese producers circumventing the AD/CVD Orders on small vertical shaft engines, and K&S has once again helped Briggs & Stratton successfully defend those Orders against evasion. 

The Trade team built a record demonstrating that these engines were not commercially available when the underlying investigations were initiated and that the Chinese producer was undermining the effectiveness of trade relief Briggs & Stratton secured after a lengthy process to show that unfair Chinese trade practices injured the domestic industry. 

Circumvention attempts seriously undermine the effectiveness of remedies provided by AD/CVD proceedings and frustrate the purposes for which these laws were enacted. This determination is critical to protecting Briggs & Stratton's U.S. manufacturing operations and ensuring that the trade relief secured through the original Orders cannot be undermined by later-developed products engineered to bypass scope definitions. With this result, Briggs & Stratton has ensured that unfair trade practices are vigorously challenged and that the domestic industry receives the relief to which it is entitled.