Doris Johnson Hines, an intellectual property lawyer, is about to become the newest administrative law judge at the International Trade Commission, according to a Feb. 23 ITC news release. She will begin work on Feb. 27. She currently is a partner at Finnegan and has "extensive experience in intellectual property litigation in both the public and private sectors leading teams in U.S. district courts, the USITC, and before arbitration panels," the announcement said.
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC)
The U.S. International Trade Commission is a federal agency which is independent, nonpartisan and quasi-judicial. The ITC (also commonlty referred to as the USITC) provides trade analysis to the President and Congress. The Commission serves as a forum to adjudicate intellectual property and trade disputes. The USITC investigates and makes determinations in cases involving imports which injure U.S. industry, including antidumping and countervailing duty cases, or violate U.S. intellectual property rights, such as in Section 337 cases. It also maintains the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The USITC is headed by six Commissioners who are appointed by Congress.
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation says the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports have been fruitless, and antidumping and countervailing duty laws also are inadequate to counter the wide variety of abuses from China -- industrial espionage, forced technology transfer, discrimination against foreign sales in China, as well as enormous subsidies. "It is time for the U.S. government, ideally working with allies, to craft and implement a new set of trade defense instruments," ITIF Founder Robert Atkinson wrote in a white paper released Nov. 21.
The International Trade Commission has requested public interest comments concerning a Section 337 investigation on imported video surveillance equipment, according to a Nov. 1 Federal Register notice (USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-1281). The request follows Administrative law Judge Bryan Moore's Oct. 24 initial determination, which found respondent Verkada of San Mateo, California, had violated Section 337 by importing certain video security equipment and systems that infringe on three patents held by Motorola and Avigilon. Moore recommended a limited exclusion order directed to certain video security equipment and systems, related software, components thereof, sold for importation by Verkada as well as a cease-and-desist order.
Comments to the International Trade Commission are due by Sept. 27 in two potential cases on integrated circuits, semiconductors and mobile devices, according to a pair of notices to be published in the Sept. 19 Federal Register.
A World Trade Organization panel said the U.S. International Trade Commission made numerous errors as it laid the groundwork for a safeguard tariff on large residential washing machines and parts, a tariff that is still in place for entries above the quota. The tariff is currently 14% within the quota threshold for washers and 30% on parts and washers above the quota threshold.
Blueberries will escape Section 201 safeguards, after the International Trade Commission on Feb. 11 voted that the domestic blueberry industry isn’t injured by a flood of imports. As a result of the ITC’s negative injury finding, the commission’s investigation will end, and it will not recommend any import restrictions to the president.
Industry groups and unions continued to react to the International Trade Commission's analysis of the new NAFTA the day after the report was released, with most saying the report confirmed what they already knew.
The International Trade Commission is looking at possible textile and apparel rules of origin changes within the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement at the request of the U.S. trade representative, the agency said in a notice. "The proposed modifications to the KORUS rules of origin cover the following products: certain cotton yarns (under HTS heading 5206) with viscose rayon staple fibers (under HTS subheadings 5504.10 or 5507.00), certain woven fabrics (under HTS heading 5408) with cuprammonium rayon yarns (under HTS heading 5403.39), and certain apparel (under HTS heading 6110), and accessories and parts (under HTS heading 6117), of certain cashmere yarns (under HTS heading 5108)," the ITC said. Specifically, the USTR asked in a letter to the ITC for a review of the tariff shift rules involving headings 5201-5205, 5206, 5207, 5408, 6109,6110, 6111, 6113-6116 and 6117. "The USITC expects to submit its advice to the USTR by June 24, 2019," it said in a news release. "A public version of the report, with all confidential business information deleted, will be released as soon as possible thereafter." Public comments are due by March 29. No public hearing is planned.
The Commerce Department’s Enforcement and Compliance office and the International Trade Commission will delay deadlines by several weeks in all of their investigations, including antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings, as a result of the recently ended federal government shutdown. Commerce will delay all AD/CVD cases and deadlines, as well as deadlines in Foreign-Trade Zones Board proceedings, by 40 days, it said in a memo dated Jan. 28. The ITC will delay deadlines in all of its cases, including AD/CVD and Section 337 proceedings, by 35 days, an ITC spokeswoman said by email.
No business or labor group came out against the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, in comments filed to the International Trade Commission, even as some groups expressed concerns about aspects of the deal to replace NAFTA. Comments are due before the ITC holds a hearing on Nov. 15.