International Trade Commission Research Articles

Understanding the Rivalry Among Telecommunication Companies in the Cross-Border Patent Infringement: An Evolutionary Social Network Analysis

Understanding the rivalry in infringement-litigation dynamics is critical for firms in the telecommunication industry. While the number of cross-border patent disputes in these years has surged owing to the globalized economy, the existing literature primarily focuses on patent disputes among telecommunication companies in the national jurisdiction. Hence, to capture the rivalry in the telecommunication industry more comprehensively, we utilize the evolutionary social network to explore the patent dispute data in the International Trade Commission (ITC), which is a crucial legal battleground for enterprises with international business. Through developing a dynamic litigation network and discussing the possible role of the positions in compliance with their interacting relationship, we illustrated that companies involved in ITC investigations can be segmented into key players, frequent respondents, strategic applicants, as well as peripheral enterprises, and the litigation strategies implicated behind four groups of firms stress the strategic nature of ITC investigations. According to the findings, this study contributes to the literature on patent litigation in the telecommunication field and social network relationships. In addition, this paper suggests that telecommunication companies should develop litigation strategies based on their positions and roles in the competition network, and policymakers need to have a deeper understanding of the competition practices in the global legal context.

Impacts of U.S. countervailing duties on phosphate fertilizers

AbstractCountervailing duties are a trade policy instrument by which importing governments tax imports that are found to benefit from foreign subsidies. Thus, in effect, these duties attempt to remedy market distortions generated by foreign subsidies by further distorting market mechanisms. On March 11, 2021, the U.S. International Trade Commission issued duties ranging between 19.97% and 47.05% on Moroccan phosphate imports upon finding that Moroccan exports had been receiving unfair government subsidies. In this research, we estimate the impacts of these duties on U.S. diammonium phosphate and triple superphosphate fertilizers, as well as long‐run downstream prices of five U.S. row crops with the largest phosphate usage. Using these results, we assess the implications for gross receipts in the U.S. fertilizer industry and gross margins for American farmers. We also calculate the implied change in expenditure for agricultural end users. We find that the countervailing duties have increased U.S. phosphate fertilizer prices by approximately 34% over counterfactual levels. This corresponds to an expected downstream price response ranging from around 10% for corn, cotton, and sorghum to between 1% and 4% for soybeans and wheat. This market distortion generates a $23 billion increase in gross receipts for a concentrated domestic fertilizer industry while shrinking gross margins for American farmers by 2% and 8% and increasing agricultural user expenditures by approximately $10.84 billion.

Double Taxation of Commission Fee of International Technology Trade and Corresponding Strategies

With the progress of the times, the increasing degree of economic globalization and the rapid development of the international trade industry, international technology trade has become one of the main forms of international trade. International technology trade is of great significance to the transformation and upgrading of a country's industry and the growth of the national economy, and some problems have arisen while countries pursue technology to trade for the purpose of achieving mutual benefit and win-win situations. The article first explains the problems related to international technology trade and commission fees and then analyzes the current taxation status of international technology trade commission fees, mainly studying some problems of the taxation systems of countries around the world and the repeated collection patterns of developed countries for technology trade commission fees. It also points out a series of problems caused by the double taxation of technology trade commission fees, such as: affecting the normal trade between technology suppliers and recipients, causing the high cost of technology transfer, and making the international technology trade market disorderly. Finally, the solution to the problem of double taxation is given, and at the same time, corresponding countermeasures are proposed for improving the development of international technology trade in China.

Intellectual property infringement by foreign firms: Import protection through the ITC or court

This paper examines intellectual property litigation as a method of protection from patent-infringing imports. Claims against patent-infringing imports entering the United States may be filed before the International Trade Commission (ITC) or in district court. The ITC applies injunctions (import prohibitions) that would seem to provide more protection from infringing imports than the standard license fee remedy in court. Settlements prior to legal adjudication are common in both venues. Using a model with Nash bargaining and Cournot competition, we show that an ITC filing may restrict imports by less than in court. This result tends to apply if product differentiation is high and the size of the patented cost-reducing innovation is large.

The international trade of U.S. organic agri-food products: export opportunities, import competition and policy impacts

AbstractInternational markets are an important destination and source of U.S. organic agri-food products. This paper offers new insights concerning the current status and trends of U.S. organic imports and exports U.S. policies relevant to the international trade of U.S. organic agri-food products are described, characterizing specific products and partners. In addition, the impact of organic equivalency agreements (OEAs), which the U.S. has signed with Canada, the EU, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland, are examined to determine the extent to which they facilitate trade. Using highly disaggregated international trade data (HS-10) from the U.S. International Trade Commission and Statistics Canada, this analysis finds that fresh agricultural products dominate both U.S. exports and imports. Between 2017 and 2019, apples grapes, strawberries and spinach were the predominant fresh exports, while tomato sauces, vinegar and roasted coffee are the most exported processed food products. A significant majority of these exports are destined for Canada and Mexico. The most imported organic agri-food products include unroasted coffee, bananas, olive oil and soybeans. There is much more diversity in the country of origin of these imports with Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Spain and Argentina among the major organic food suppliers to the U.S. OEAs allow for mutual recognition of national organic standards between countries. This analysis finds that, while, in aggregate, OEAs were not found to impact U.S. organic imports or exports, results evaluating individual agreements do suggest that they can be effective trade policy instruments. In particular, the U.S.–Canada and the U.S.–Switzerland OEAs were found to be effective in facilitating U.S. exports. Taken together these findings offer important insights into current trade patterns, and U.S. international market and organic policy opportunities.

From catch to plate

From catch to plate

Business Roundup

BUSINESS Business Roundup ShareShare onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail C&EN, 2022, 100 (1), p 17January 3, 2022Cite this:C&EN 100, 1, 17AbstractVertellus has acquired the food and personal care ingredients maker Jarchem Innovative Ingredients for an undisclosed sum. Jarchem specializes in biobased substitutes for silicones and synthetic esters. Reagens will buy the thioester antioxidant business of Evans Chemetics for an undisclosed sum. The ingredients in the deal are used to protect plastics from oxidation caused by heat and light. SK Innovation and Kolon Industries have launched a business in polybutylene adipate- co -terephthalate (PBAT), a biodegradable polymer. The companies opened a plant in Gumi, South Korea, with a capacity of 3,000 metric tons per year. JSR has joined the quantum computing companies PsiQuantum and QunaSys in a project to assess fault-tolerant quantum computing for industrial chemistry calculations. JSR says it hopes to solve previously impossible materials simulations. CMC Materials says the US International Trade Commission has issued an exclusion order against DuPont for violating CMC patents related to chemical mechanical planarizationView: PDF | Full Text HTML

Handwringing over how to slice the pie when USTR should be focused on growing it

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) recently released its report on the distributional effects of trade and trade policy on U.S. workers and “underrepresented and underserved communities.” The report catalogs a host of information gathered from a literature review and several roundtables on the adverse effects of U.S. manufacturing imports. But the report’s laser focus on manufacturing imports leaves a huge gap for readers interested in the distributional effects of trade. Manufacturing imports are an important part of trade, but they aren’t all of trade. Trade is imports and exports, goods and services, inputs and final goods. Trade is manufacturing, but it’s also agriculture and services. And you need to look at the full picture to understand the distributional impacts of trade and trade policy. While trade can mean wage or job loss for a worker with skills specific to an import-competing industry, it can mean other things, too. Trade can be the average American household’s budget going further at Christmastime. Trade can be importing the widgets that used to be made here and exporting new high-tech manufacturing goods that use those imported widgets. Trade is what has helped one mom from Lithonia, Georgia, start her own online accessory and consignment store. Trade is the lifeline for much of U.S. agriculture. But the ITC report focused narrowly on the workers competing with manufacturing imports.

The International Trade Commission, Though Designed to Protect Domestic Industry, Frequently Threatens it

The International Trade Commission, Though Designed to Protect Domestic Industry, Frequently Threatens it

Comments on United States – investigation of the International Trade Commission in softwood lumber from Canada, recourse to article 21.5 of the DSU by Canada

This article is based on United States – investigation of the International Trade Commission in softwood lumber from Canada, recourse to article 21.5 of the DSU by Canada（WT/DS277/AB/RW）panel and Based on the report of the Appellate Body, it analyzed the case and proposed to amend the Anti-dumping Agreement and improve domestic laws to reduce anti-dumping disputes.

United States’ Trade Policy and Future Outlook : Focus on United States Trade Representative and United States International Trade Commission

본 연구는 먼저 미국의 통상정책에 막대한 영향을 끼친 법으로 알려진 1930년 스무트 홀리 관세법, 1934년 상호무역협정법, 1962년 무역확대법, 1974년 무역법, 1988년 종합무역법에 대해 살펴보고자 하였다. 이를 바탕으로 트럼프･바이든 행정부에서 추진한 주요 보호무역조치를 알아보고 어떠한 특성이 있는지 확인하고자 하였다. 그 결과 미국 우선주의를 표방한 트럼프･바이든 행정부에서 추진한 대표적인 보호무역조치는 반덤핑관세 및 상계관세 부과, 세이프가드 조치, 국가안보를 이유로 1962년 무역확대법 제232조에 근거한 무역규제가 있음을 확인하였다. 또한 트럼프･바이든 행정부가 추진한 보호무역조치의 특성으로 중국뿐만 아니라 미국 동맹국을 비롯하여 다른 국가에도 미국의 무역규제의 압력이 증가되고 있으며 이를 극복할 방안으로 우리는 수출시장 다변화 및 공급망 재편의 필요성이 제기된다.First of all, this study tried to review the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934, Trade Expansion Act of 1962, Trade Reform Act of 1934, and Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. These laws are known to have exerted considerable influence on the establishment of United States trade policy. In addition, this article contained information related to the protectionism measures pursued by the Trump and Biden administrations. The Trump and Biden administrations used the provisions of Section 232 under the Trade Expansion Act, as well as anti-dumping and countervailing duties. Especially, the Trump administration invoked rarely-used rationales for the enforcement of trade barriers by mentioning national security. And this article explained the current situation and characteristic of the Trump and Biden’s trade policy. To conclude, the Trump and Biden administrations has quickly adopted active and defiant approach to using United States trade laws as a protectionist tool.

Safeguard measures and fresh produce trade: The case of US blueberry imports

Abstract Safeguard measures are used to limit excessive import growth and protect domestic producers from unfair import competition. The global safeguard investigation for blueberries highlights these concerns and raises questions about the relationship between imports, prices, and the well-being of US producers. Although the US International Trade Commission (USITC) ruled that imports have not caused serious injury to US blueberry producers, it was important to further examine this issue. In this study, we employ an inverse demand model and dynamic vector autoregressive procedure linking source-specific fresh blueberry imports from countries like Mexico and Chile to US blueberry prices. Our results mostly support the USITC ruling. Results indicate that declines in US prices are small when compared to the level of import growth. Impulse response functions indicate that import price shocks are not long-lasting.

Assessment of soy-based imports into the United States and associated foreign animal disease status.

Soy‐based products are known to pose a viable risk to U.S. swine herds because of their ability to harbour and transmit virus. This publication aimed to evaluate soy imports into the United States as a whole and from foreign animal disease positive (FAD‐positive) countries to determine which products are being imported in the highest quantities and observe potential trends in imports from FAD‐positive countries. Import data were accessed through the United States International Trade Commission website (USITC DataWeb) and summarized using R (version 4.0.2, R core team, Vienna, Austria). Twenty‐one different Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes were queried to determine quantities (metric tonnes, MT) and breakdown of different soy product types being imported into the United States from 2015 to 2020. A total of 78 different countries exported soy products to the United States in 2019 and 2020 with top contributors being Canada (546,467 and 481,497 MT, respectively), India (397,858 and 430,621 MT, respectively) and Argentina (122,116 and 79,471 MT, respectively). Soy oilcake (582,273 MT) was imported in the largest quantities, followed by organic soybeans (270,194 MT) and soy oil (134,436 MT) for 2020. Of the 78 countries, 46 had cases of FAD reported through the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) World Animal Health Information Database (WAHIS). Top exporters of soy products to the United States from FAD‐positive countries in 2019 and 2020 were India (397,858 and 430,621 MT, respectively), Argentina (122,116 MT in 2019) and Ukraine (40,293 and 56,392 MT, respectively). The risk of FAD introduction to the United States through soy imports can fluctuate based on where FAD outbreaks are occurring, shipping methods and end usage of products. A system to monitor these factors could help make future decisions about trade and risk of FAD introduction to U.S. swine herds.

An analysis of select swine feed ingredients and pork products imported into the United States from African swine fever virus affected countries.

The potential for feed ingredients to serve as a vehicle for African swine fever virus (ASFV) introduction to the United States remains a significant concern. It is therefore imperative that channels through which high-risk livestock feeds and feed ingredients are imported into the United States from ASFV-positive countries are identified and considered into the USDA's ASF National Response Framework. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the use of a novel analytical tool to categorically quantify pork products and potential high-risk feed ingredients that have entered the United States from ASFV-positive countries over a 5-year period (2016-2020). Data for this study were obtained at the United States International Trade Commission Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) website (www.hs.usitc.gov), a publicly available website that provides transaction information on specific trade commodities between the United States and its international trading partners. A total of 29 high-risk pork products or feed ingredients with the potential to be fed to pigs were analysed. High risk products and ingredients were defined as those that previous research has shown to facilitate extended viral survivability, and includes products such as soybean oilcake, distillers grains, pet food, and pork sausage casings. Data were exported into Microsoft Excel and organized into pivot tables to describe the quantity of each product by country of origin and Port of Entry (POE). The analysis focused on the 60 ASFV-positive countries as currently reported by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). In 2020, a total of 486,902 metric tons (MT) of these high-risk products were imported into the United States from a total of 19 of the 60 foreign countries currently listed as ASFV positive by the OIE. A majority of imported animal feed ingredients came from India in 2020 (85.8%; 392,243 MT), whereas the majority of pork products and by-products were imported from Poland (21,191 MT, 70.6%). Soybean oilcake from India entered the United States through a total of 15 ports of entry (POEs) in 2020. Of these POEs, a total of five POEs received greater than 91% of all of soy oilcake originating from India, including Baltimore, MD (37.7%); San Francisco, CA (30.1%); Seattle, WA (12.7%); New Orleans, LA (5.9%); and Detroit, MI (5.1%). When examining trends over a 5-year period, a few noteworthy findings include the dramatic rise in soybean oilcake imported from India when compared to China, and a dramatic decrease in the total volume of pork sausage casings imported from China into the United States. To support the risk management of feed imports, our novel approach focuses on seaport of highest risk and quantity of product received. Data provided in this report represent an initial listing of suspect pork products and feed ingredients entering the United States, much of which is destined for animal feed. Specific detailed examples are provided in order to demonstrate the tool's flexible interface, which can be quickly modified to zero-in on specific feed ingredients, countries, or POEs depending on what the user's question may be. To the authors' knowledge, the use of and application of such a tool has not been previously utilized to support ongoing risk mitigation efforts. Potential outlets for future use of the analytical tool will include a more user-friendly and interactive interface providing an inclusive analysis of global livestock feed ingredient sourcing.

The Invisible Hand of Diplomacy

In December 1977, a tiny group of U.S. glove makers—most of whom were African American and Latina women—launched a petition before the U.S. International Trade Commission calling for protection from rising imports. Their target was China. Represented by the Work Glove Manufacturers Association, their petition called for quotas on a particular kind of glove entering the United States from China: cotton work gloves. This was a watershed moment. For the first time since the Communist Party came to power in 1949, U.S. workers singled out Chinese goods in pursuit of import relief. Because they were such a small group taking on a country as large as China, their supporters championed the cause as one of David versus Goliath. Yet the case has been forgotten, partly because the glove workers lost. Here I uncover their story, bringing the history of 1970s deindustrialization in the United States into conversation with U.S.-China rapprochement, one of the most significant political transformations of the Cold War. The case, and indeed the loss itself, reveals the tensions between the interests of U.S. workers, corporations, and diplomats. Yet the case does not provide a simple narrative of U.S. workers’ interests being suppressed by diplomats and policymakers nurturing globalized trade ties. Instead, it also underscored the conflicting interests within the U.S. labor movement at a time when manufacturing companies were moving their production jobs to East Asia.

ITC antidumping toward China rulings: Is political factor overwhelming?

AbstractAs the U.S.–China trade deficit continues to rise, China has been at the top of the list in terms of the International Trade Commission (ITC) antidumping (AD) cases. In this paper, we ask the question whether the ITC AD prosecution is based on pure economic content or is it somewhat jaded by politics. Utilizing a Probit model, we examine the effect of a set of political and economic variables on the probability of the ITC ruling in favor of the U.S. petitioners that have filed a 731 AD lawsuit. As China has the highest number of cases brought about by U.S. petitioners, combined with the fact that China is the single largest source of the U.S. trade deficit, we also included a binary dummy variable if the case is solely against China. We find that this variable is highly significant. The only other variable that is consistently significant is the political influence of the petitioners measured by the political campaign contribution. In addition, we find that conditioned on China being the sole target, the political influence of the petitioner significantly increases the probability of a favorable ruling by the ITC. We implement a placebo test with cases toward Japan and find no evidence of the ITC's bias in ruling, thus raising the strong possibility that the United States is targeting China outside of pure economic justifications.

In Defense of 5G: National Security and Patent Rights Under the Public Interest Factors

Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 authorizes the International Trade Commission (ITC) to stop—or “exclude”—patent-infringing imports. Exclusion orders protect the country against unfair trade practices and enforce U.S. patent rights. But before issuing an order, § 337 mandates the Commission to consider the order’s harm to the public health and welfare, competitive conditions, availability of substitutes, and consumers. Because it rarely finds that these “public interest factors” outweigh the benefits of patent enforcement, the Commission has mostly granted exclusion orders despite growing concerns related to the public’s reliance on imported mobile technology. 5G, or the next generation of mobile technology, promises to connect our homes, cars, and hospitals to digital networks across the country. With great promise comes great risk. Growing hacking threats from foreign adversaries like China and Russia, coupled with the concentrated nature of 5G innovation, raise urgent cybersecurity concerns. From 2017 to 2019, two ITC administrative law judges in Apple Qualcomm investigations disagreed over whether 5G concerns justified the denial of an exclusion order. This Comment argues that the ITC may lawfully interpret § 337 to consider 5G national security risks under the public interest factors and proposes a cybersecurity framework to assess the policy weight of these risks. These analyses will guide businesses and ITC officials through the next generation of patent disputes.

Intellectual Property Infringement by Foreign Firms: Import Protection Through the Itc or Court

This paper examines intellectual property litigation as a method of protection from patent-infringing imports. Claims against patent-infringing imports entering the United States may be filed before the International Trade Commission (ITC) or in district court. The ITC applies injunctions (import prohibitions) that would seem to provide more protection from infringing imports than the standard license fee remedy in court. Settlements prior to legal adjudication are common in both venues. Using a model with Nash bargaining and Cournot competition, we show that an ITC filing may restrict imports by less than in court. This result tends to apply if product differentiation is high and the size of the patented cost-reducing innovation is large.

Assessment of Soy-Based Imports into the US and Associated Foreign Animal Disease Status

Soy-based products are known to pose a viable risk to US swine herds because of their ability to harbor and transmit virus. This study evaluated soy imports into the US as a whole and from foreign animal disease positive (FAD+) countries to determine which products are being imported in the highest quantities and observe potential trends in imports from FAD+ countries. Import data were accessed through the United States International Trade Commission website (USITC DataWeb) and summarized using R (version 4.0.2, R core team, Vienna, Austria). Twenty-one different Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes were queried to determine quantities (US tons, T) and breakdown of different soy product types being imported into the US from 2015 to 2020. A total of 78 different countries exported soy products to the US in 2019 and 2020, with top contributors being Canada (602,377 T and 530,759 T, respectively), India (438,563 T and 474,678 T, respectively), and Argentina (134,610 T and 87,602 T, respectively). In 2020, soy oilcake (641,846 T) was imported in the largest quantities, followed by organic soybeans (297,838 T) and soy oil (148,190 T). Of the 78 countries, 46 had cases of FAD reported through the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) World Animal Health Information Database (WAHIS). Top exporters of soy products to the US from FAD+ countries in 2019 and 2020 were India (438,563 T and 474,678 T, respectively), Argentina (134,610 T in 2019), and Ukraine (44,415 T and 62,162 T, respectively). A system to monitor the sourcing of these products into the US and the end usage would allow for a greater understanding of the risk of these products to domestic swine herds.

U.S. International Trade Commission Testimony

This testimony responds to a Congressional inquiry on the subject of foreign censorship. It focuses on laws regulating Internet platforms, and because of the ITC's trade focus also prioritizes issues with potential economic impact. The initial filing June 24, 2021 filing addresses (1) competing concepts of censorship in platform regulation, (2) the role of informal government pressure or jawboning on platforms' global speech rules, (3) recent developments in non-U.S. governments' formal claims of extraterritorial jurisdiction to regulate speech, (4) emerging jurisdictional hardball practices, including hostage provisions in national laws regulating platforms, and (5) potential economic and competitive impact of recent and pending platform law developments. The post-hearing submission, addressing questions raised in the July 1, 2021 hearing, addresses (1) developments in India, (2) state action in intermediary liability laws, (3) studies attempting to quantify or otherwise empirically assess the economic impact of intermediary liability laws, (4) threats to end-to-end-encryption with both economic and speech-related consequences, with a list of experts and sources on the topic.