The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) is undertaking a new factfinding investigation on Pacific Island trade and investment with the United States, including impediments to and opportunities for increased goods and services exports to the United States and U.S. investment in the Pacific Islands.

The investigation, U.S.-Pacific Islands Trade and Investment: Impediments and Opportunities, Inv. No. 332-593, was requested by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in a letter received on September 29, 2022.

As requested, the USITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, will prepare a public report for the USTR. The report will provide, to the extent practicable:

• an overview of the Pacific Island economies, including major sectors in production, consumption, trade, and employment.
• a description of goods and services exports from the Pacific Islands during the period 2017–21, and identification of major factors that impact those exports to the United States.
• a description of the use of the U.S. General System of Preferences (GSP) program by the Pacific Island countries and identification of the goods from the Pacific Islands that enter the United States under GSP, sectors in which these programs might be underutilized, and factors affecting utilization of GSP.
• a description of foreign investment in the Pacific Islands during the period 2017-21; and identification of major factors affecting investment from the United States.
• identification of major products (including goods covered by the GSP program) and services in the Pacific Islands with greatest potential for export sales to the United States, sectors with U.S. investment potential, and the factors that impede trade and investment with the United States for these products and sectors using qualitative analysis and, to the extent data are available, quantitative analysis.
• a description of initiatives and/or technical assistance that could address such trade and investment impediments, if found during the Commission’s research.

The USITC expects to submit its report to the USTR by September 29, 2023.

The USITC will hold a public hearing in connection with the investigation at 9:30 a.m. on February 14, 2023. A link to the hearing will be posted on the Commission’s website at https://www.usitc.gov/calendarpad/calendar.html.

Requests to appear at the hearing should be filed no later than 5:15 p.m. on January 31, 2023, 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.

The USITC also welcomes written submissions for the record. Written submissions should be addressed to the Secretary of the Commission and should be submitted no later than 5:15 p.m. on April 17, 2023. 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 October 28, 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 or may be obtained by contacting the Office of the Secretary at commissionhearings@usitc.gov.  

 

About these investigations: USITC general factfinding investigations, such as these, cover matters related to tariffs or trade and are generally conducted under section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 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) today released The Year in Trade 2021 (Inv. No. 332-345), its annual overview of developments regarding the operation of the U.S. trade agreements program for 2021.

The USITC's The Year in Trade is one of the government's most comprehensive reports available regarding activities related to U.S. trade policies, agreements, and trade laws. This report is the 73rd in a series of annual reports submitted to the U.S. Congress under section 163(c) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2213(c)) and its predecessor legislation.

The publication reviews U.S. international trade laws and actions under these laws, activities of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and developments regarding U.S. free trade agreements (FTAs), FTA negotiations, and U.S. bilateral trade relations with major trading partners in 2021.

In addition to discussion on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain disruptions on international trade, topics covered in The Year in Trade 2021 include:

• U.S. antidumping, countervailing duty, safeguard, intellectual property rights infringement, national security, and section 301 cases active in 2021;
• amendments to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, and the operation of U.S. trade preference programs, including the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences, the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the Nepal Trade Preferences Act, and the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act, including initiatives for Haiti;
• WTO dispute settlement decisions and other significant activities in the WTO and initiatives under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum;
• implementation and enforcement matters under the United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement and other U.S. FTAs in effect; and
• bilateral trade issues with selected major U.S. trading partners -- the European Union, Mexico, Canada, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, and India.

The report also provides an overview of U.S. trade in goods and services during 2021. Statistical tables highlight U.S. bilateral trade with major trading partners and trade under U.S. trade preference programs and FTAs.

The Year in Trade 2021 (USITC Publication 5349, August 2022) will be posted on the USITC's Internet site at https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/pub5349.pdf.   

A set of interactive, web-based presentations of underlying data is also available at:

• Interactive dashboard: https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/yit_2021_interactive_dashboard
• Interactive Exchange Rate figure: https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/yit_2021_interactive_exchange_rate
• Trade Balance: https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/yit_2021_interactive_dashboard
• Sector: https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/yit_2021_sector

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) is seeking input for a new factfinding investigation on the USMCA automotive rules of origin (ROOs) and their impact on the U.S. economy, their effect on the competitiveness of U.S. automotive production and trade, and their relevancy in light of technology changes.

The Commission instituted the investigation, USMCA Automotive Rules of Origin: Economic Impact and Operation, 2023 Report (Inv. No. 332-592), for the purpose of preparing the first of five reports for the President and the House Committee on Ways and Means and Senate Committee on Finance as required by section 202A(g)(2) of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act.

As required, the USITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, will examine the USMCA automotive ROOs and their impact on the United States in an investigation and produce a report. The report will provide information on:

1. the economic impact of the USMCA automotive ROOs on U.S. gross domestic product, trade, employment, and consumers, as well as the economic impact on production, investment, capacity, revenues, wages, and employment in U.S. automotive industries;
2. the operation of the USMCA automotive ROOs and their effect on the competitiveness of U.S. automotive production and trade;
3. the relevancy of the USMCA automotive ROOs in light of recent technology changes in the United States; and
4. other matters the Commission considers relevant to the economic impact of the USMCA automotive ROOs.

The USITC expects to submit its first report to the President and the appropriate Congressional committees no later than Friday, June 30, 2023. The Commission is directed to submit reports on the USMCA automotive ROOs every two years thereafter until 2031.

The USITC will hold a public hearing in connection with the investigation at 9:30 a.m. on November 3, 2022. Information about how to participate in the hearing will be posted on the Commission’s website no later than September 26, 2022, at https://usitc.gov/research_and_analysis/what_we_are_working_on.htm.

Requests to appear at the hearing should be filed no later than 5:15 p.m. on September 30, 2022, 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.

The USITC also welcomes written submissions for the record.  Written submissions should be addressed to the Secretary to the Commission and should be submitted no later than 5:15 p.m. on November 24, 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 and appropriate submissions is available in the USITC’s notice of investigation, dated August 4, 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.

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.

Foreign censorship and related measures led to significant foregone revenues for U.S. businesses annually and restricted the opportunity of U.S. businesses to provide services to hundreds of millions of users in China, according to a new report by the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC or Commission). 

The investigation, Foreign Censorship, Part 2: Trade and Economic Effects on U.S. Businesses, was requested by the Senate Committee on Finance (Committee) in a letter received on April 8, 2021. This report is the second of two reports on foreign censorship requested by the Committee. 

As requested, the USITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, reported on the impacts to U.S. businesses of foreign censorship in the key markets of China, Russia, Turkey, Vietnam, India, and Indonesia through the application of case studies and a survey. Findings from the report include:

• Based on the survey results, businesses providing media and digital services are those most likely to be affected by censorship-related measures in China. Almost a quarter of U.S. media and digital service providers in China that were able to enter the Chinese market, representing more than half of the 2020 global revenue of all U.S. media and digital service providers active in China, experienced censorship-related measures. A significantly higher share of large businesses experienced censorship-related measures in China than small and medium-sized businesses.  For U.S. media and digital service providers that experienced censorship:
  • Almost three-quarters were concerned about negative impacts on their operations in China, including their ability to provide products and services in China. Most also noted that censorship-related measures in China have become more challenging to manage in the past few years.
  • Almost 40 percent indicated that they had to self-censor to provide their products or services in China.
  • Over 40 percent experienced increased costs of doing business in China and/or lost revenue in China as a result of censorship-related measures.
• Based on the case studies, the Commission estimates that the largest impacts associated with censorship-related measures are the forgone revenues from market access denial to businesses that provide social media platforms, over-the-top communications services, and internet search services, as well as audiovisual content.

Foreign Censorship, Part 2: Trade and Economic Effects on U.S. Businesses (Investigation No. 332-586, USITC Publication 5334, July 2022) is available on the USITC’s website at https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/pub5334.pdf. The first report, Foreign Censorship, Part 1: Policies and Practices Affecting U.S. Businesses (Investigation No. 332-585, USITC Publication 5244, December 2021), is available on the USITC’s website at https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/pub5244.pdf.

USITC general factfinding investigations, such as this one, cover matters related to tariffs or trade and are generally conducted under section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 at the request of the U.S. Trade Representative, the House Committee on Ways and Means, or the Senate Committee on Finance. The resulting report conveys 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 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 USITC expects to deliver the report to the Committee by January 25, 2021.

The USITC is seeking input for its new investigation from all interested parties. The USITC will hold a public hearing in connection with the investigation at 9:30 a.m. on May 7, 2020. Requests to appear at the public hearing should be filed no later than 5:15 p.m. on April 16, 2020, with the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington D.C. 20436.

The USITC also welcomes written submissions for the record. Written submissions should be addressed to the Secretary to the Commission at the above address and should be submitted no later than 5:15 p.m. on July 28, 2020. All written submissions, except for confidential business information, will be available for public inspection.

Further information on the scope of this investigation and appropriate submissions appears in the USITC’s notice of investigation, dated February 12, 2020, which can be obtained from the USITC Internet site (www.usitc.gov) or by contacting the Office of the Secretary at the above address, or at 202-205-2000.

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 report conveys 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.

Understanding General Factfinding Investigations

Section 332, Tariff Act of 1930, General Factfinding Investigations

Under section 332, the USITC investigates a wide variety of trade matters. See list of USITC's general factfinding reports.

• Read more about Understanding General Factfinding Investigations

Subscribe to General Factfinding Investigations