The Uruguay Round Agreements Act, approved in late 1994, amended the antidumping and countervailing duty laws in several respects. One of the most significant changes is the provision requiring the Department of Commerce and the Commission to conduct reviews no later than five years after an antidumping or countervailing duty order is issued to determine whether revoking the order would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping or subsidies (Commerce) and of material injury (Commission).

This requirement resulted in reviews of all outstanding antidumping and countervailing duty orders in existence as of January 1, 1995, over a three-year "transition period" that began in July 1998 and ended in June 2001. Original first reviews of antidumping and countervailing duty orders issued after January 1, 1995, are conducted five years after the effective date of the original order. Subsequent reviews (i.e., second reviews, third reviews, etc.) are conducted five years after the effective date of any continuation order.