The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) is seeking input for the recently instituted investigation Distributional Effects of Trade and Trade Policy on U.S. Workers (332-587) and announced today the dates for seven roundtable discussions, an academic symposium, and a public hearing. The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) requested the investigation and report in a letter received on October 14, 2021. 

As requested by the USTR, the roundtables, symposium, and public hearing will focus on the potential distributional effects of goods and services trade and trade policy on U.S. workers by skill, wage and salary level, gender, race/ethnicity, age, and income level, especially as they affect underrepresented and underserved communities. The roundtables and public hearing will afford an opportunity for interested persons to present information and views relating to the investigation, and the academic symposium will afford an opportunity for researchers and data experts to present work relevant to the investigation.

The USITC is seeking input for the investigation from all interested parties and requests that the information focus on the issues that USTR highlighted in its request. Additional information regarding the investigation and roundtables, symposium, and public hearing can be found at the investigation specific web page:  https://www.usitc.gov/research_and_analysis/ongoing/distributional_effects_332. Important dates for each of the events are included below.

Roundtables

Interested parties wishing to attend or participate in one of the roundtables (listed below) may do so by emailing DE@usitc.gov or calling (202) 536-9960.

Theme	Format	Date of Roundtable	Participation Registration Deadline
Race and Ethnicity I	Virtual	March 1, 2022	February 15, 2022
Impacts on Underserved Communities – Fresno, CA	In Person / Virtual Hybrid	March 8, 2022	February 22, 2022
Race and Ethnicity II	Virtual	March 10, 2022	February 24, 2022
Gender and Orientation	Virtual	March 14, 2022	February 28, 2022
Disability, Age, and Education	Virtual	March 22, 2022	March 8, 2022
Impacts on Underserved Communities – Detroit, MI	In Person / Virtual Hybrid	March 30, 2022	March 16, 2022
Local Impacts on Underserved Communities	Virtual	April 1, 2022	March 18, 2022

Academic Symposium

Persons interested either in presenting work (published or ongoing) or serving on a panel discussion at the academic symposium should submit abstracts and curriculum vitae (CV) by emailing DE@usitc.gov.

Symposium Date	Abstract/CV Submission Deadline	Academic Paper Submission Deadline
April 5-6, 2022	February 11, 2022	March 1, 2022

Public Hearing

The USITC will hold a public hearing in connection with the investigation at 9:30 a.m. on April 19, 2022. Information about how to participate in the hearing will be posted on the investigation-specific web page no later than March 1, 2022.

Requests to appear at the hearing should be filed no later than 5:15 p.m. on April 1, 2021, with the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436.  See below for important information regarding filing a request to appear at a USITC hearing.

Written Submissions

The USITC also welcomes written submissions for the record. Written submissions should be addressed to the Secretary of the Commission. Submissions should be submitted no later than 5:15 p.m. on May 17, 2022.

All written submissions, except for confidential business information, will be available for public inspection. See below for important information regarding the filing of written submissions for USITC investigations.

IMPORTANT:  All filings to appear at the hearing and written submissions must be made through the Commission’s Electronic Document Information System (EDIS, https://edis.usitc.gov). No in-person paper-based filings or paper copies of any electronic filings will be accepted until further notice. Persons with questions regarding electronic filing should contact the Office of the Secretary, Docket Services Division (EDIS3Help@usitc.gov), or consult the Commission’s Handbook on Filing Procedures.

Further information on the scope of the investigation is available in the USITC’s notice of investigation, dated November 24, 2021, and the second notice of investigation related to public events, dated January 12, 2022, which can be downloaded from the USITC Internet site (www.usitc.gov) or may be obtained by contacting the Office of the Secretary at commissionhearings@usitc.gov.

About this investigation:  USITC general factfinding investigations, such as this one, cover matters related to tariffs or trade and are generally conducted at the request of the U.S. Trade Representative, the House Committee on Ways and Means, or the Senate Committee on Finance. The resulting reports convey the Commission's objective findings and independent analyses on the subjects investigated. The Commission makes no recommendations on policy or other matters in its general factfinding reports. Upon completion of each investigation, the USITC submits its findings and analyses to the requester. General factfinding investigation reports are subsequently released to the public unless they are classified by the requester for national security reasons.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) is undertaking a two-part investigation that will catalog existing information and develop new research and analysis capabilities to better identify and measure the potential distributional effects of U.S. trade and trade policy on U.S. workers, including by skill, wage and salary level, gender, race/ethnicity, age, and income level, especially as they affect under-represented and under-served communities.

The investigation, Distributional Effects of Trade and Trade Policy on U.S. Workers, was requested by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in a letter received on October 14, 2021.

As requested, the USITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, will provide a two-part response to the USTR.

Part 1: Public Report

The USITC will prepare a public report that catalogs information on the distributional effects of trade and trade policy on under-represented and under-served communities.  The report will:

• include information gathered through roundtable discussions among representatives of under-represented and under-served communities that have been identified in the Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, as well as think tanks; academics and researchers; unions; state and local governments; non-federal governmental entities; civil society experts; community-based stakeholders, such as minority-owned businesses; business incubators; Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs); Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs); Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs); other minority-serving institutions (MSIs); and local and national civil rights organizations;


• include information gathered through a symposium focused on academic or similar research on the distributional effects of trade and trade policy on under-represented and under-served communities, including results of existing analysis, evaluation of methodologies, the use of public and restricted data in current analysis, identifying gaps in data and/or in the economic literature, and proposed analysis that could be done with restricted data;


• include information gathered through a critical review of the economic literature on the distributional effects of trade and trade policy on under-represented and under-served communities, including among other things, the data limitations raised in these analyses; and


• identify information on effects on U.S. workers by the groups specified, identifying their specific U.S. region, and make recommendations on future research.

The Commission expects to submit its report to the USTR by October 14, 2022.

Part 2: Expansion of USITC research and analysis capabilities

The USITC will expand its research and analysis capabilities so that future probable economic advice includes estimates of the potential distributional effects of trade and trade policy, including goods and services imports, on U.S. workers.

This capacity building will include the further development of models capable of analyzing:

• the potential distributional effects of trade and trade policy, including with respect to goods and services imports, on U.S. workers;


• the effect of expanded market access for U.S. goods and services products abroad on affected U.S. exporting industries; and


• to the extent practicable, the “indirect” effect on U.S. exports of intermediate inputs when final goods receive preferential access to the U.S. market.

Through this capacity building, the USITC will also identify any data limitations that, if removed, could substantially speed the time to complete the analysis or allow for improved analysis.

The USITC will provide a briefing to USTR on the results of its capacity building on these issues during the course of its work. 

Public participation

The USITC expects to hold a public hearing, a series of public roundtables, and a public symposium in connection with the investigation.  Information concerning these events will be announced as details are finalized.  Interested individuals are encouraged to monitor the investigation-specific web page being maintained for the investigation for up-to-date information.

The USITC will also accept written submissions for the record.  Information concerning written submissions will be announced when details are finalized.  Interested individuals are encouraged to monitor the investigation-specific web page being maintained for the investigation for up-to-date information.

Further information on the scope of the investigation is available in the USITC’s notice of investigation, dated November 24, 2021, which can be downloaded from the USITC Internet site (www.usitc.gov) or may be obtained by contacting the Office of the Secretary at commissionhearings@usitc.gov, or by writing to the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436.

USITC general factfinding investigations, such as this one, cover matters related to tariffs or trade and are generally conducted at the request of the U.S. Trade Representative, the House Committee on Ways and Means, or the Senate Committee on Finance. The resulting reports convey the Commission's objective findings and independent analyses on the subjects investigated. The Commission makes no recommendations on policy or other matters in its general factfinding reports. Upon completion of each investigation, the USITC submits its findings and analyses to the requester. General factfinding investigation reports are subsequently released to the public unless they are classified by the requester for national security reasons.

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