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News Release 24-064
Inv. No(s). 337-TA-1408
Contact: Jennifer Andberg, 202-205-1819
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) voted to institute an investigation of certain hydrodermabrasion systems and components thereof. The products at issue in the investigation are described in the Commission’s notice of investigation.
The investigation is based on a complaint filed by HydraFacial LLC f/k/a Edge Systems LLC of Long Beach, CA, on June 11, 2024. The complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the United States and sale of certain hydrodermabrasion systems and components thereof that infringe a patent asserted by the complainant. The complainant requests that the USITC issue a limited exclusion order and a cease and desist order.
The USITC has identified the following respondents in this investigation:
- Cartessa Aesthetics LLC, Melville, NY
- Eunsung Global Corp, Gangwon-do, South Korea
By instituting this investigation (337-TA-1408), the USITC has not yet made any decision on the merits of the case. The USITC’s Chief Administrative Law Judge will assign the case to one of the USITC’s administrative law judges (ALJ), who will schedule and hold an evidentiary hearing. The ALJ will make an initial determination as to whether there is a violation of section 337; that initial determination is subject to review by the Commission.
The USITC will make a final determination in the investigation at the earliest practicable time. Within 45 days after institution of the investigation, the USITC will set a target date for completing the investigation. USITC remedial orders in section 337 cases are effective when issued and become final 60 days after issuance unless disapproved for policy reasons by the U.S. Trade Representative within that 60-day period.
News Release 24-061
Inv. No(s). 337-TA-1406
Contact: Jennifer Andberg, 202-205-1819
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) voted to institute an investigation of certain memory devices and electronic devices containing the same. The products at issue in the investigation are described in the Commission’s notice of investigation.
The investigation is based on a complaint filed by MimirIP, LLC of Dallas, TX, on June 3, 2024. Supplements to the complaint were filed on June 21, 2024 and June 24, 2024. The complaint, as supplemented, alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the United States and sale of certain memory devices and electronic devices containing the same that infringe patents asserted by the complainant. The complainant requests that the USITC issue a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders.
The USITC has identified the following respondents in this investigation:
- Micron Technology Inc., Boise, ID
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., Spring, TX
- HP, Inc., Palo Alto, CA
- Kingston Technology Company, Inc., Fountain Valley, CA
- Lenovo Group Limited, Hong Kong, S.A.R., China
- Lenovo (United States) Inc., Morrisville, NC
- Tesla Inc., Austin, TX
By instituting this investigation (337-TA-1406), the USITC has not yet made any decision on the merits of the case. The USITC’s Chief Administrative Law Judge will assign the case to one of the USITC’s administrative law judges (ALJ), who will schedule and hold an evidentiary hearing. The ALJ will make an initial determination as to whether there is a violation of section 337; that initial determination is subject to review by the Commission.
The USITC will make a final determination in the investigation at the earliest practicable time. Within 45 days after institution of the investigation, the USITC will set a target date for completing the investigation. USITC remedial orders in section 337 cases are effective when issued and become final 60 days after issuance unless disapproved for policy reasons by the U.S. Trade Representative within that 60-day period.
News Release 24-063
Inv. No(s). 337-TA-1407
Contact: Jennifer Andberg, 202-205-1819
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) voted to institute an investigation of certain eye cosmetics and packaging thereof. The products at issue in the investigation are described in the Commission’s notice of investigation.
The investigation is based on a complaint filed by Amarte USA Holdings, Inc of Redding CA, on May 20, 2024, and amended on May 31, 2024 and June 7, 2024, and supplemented on June 28, 2024. The second amended complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the United States and in the sale of certain eye cosmetics and packaging thereof by reason of infringement of a registered trademark, unfair competition, and false advertising. The complainant requests that the USITC issue a general exclusion order, or in the alternative a limited exclusion order, and cease and desist orders.
The USITC has identified the following respondents in this investigation:
- Unilever PLC, Port Sunlight, United Kingdom
- Unilever United States, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, NJ
- Carver Korea Co., Ltd., Seoul, South Korea
- Bourne & Morgan Ltd., London, United Kingdom
- MZ Skin Ltd., Borehamwood, United Kingdom
- Kaibeauty, Taipei City, Taiwan
- I’ll Global Co., Ltd., Seoul, South Korea
- Hikari Laboratories Ltd., Bnei Atarot, Israel
- Iman Cosmetics, London, United Kingdom
- Strip Lashed, Rotherham, United Kingdom
- Kelz Beauty, Budapest, Hungary
By instituting this investigation (337-TA-1407), the USITC has not yet made any decision on the merits of the case. The USITC’s Chief Administrative Law Judge will assign the case to one of the USITC’s administrative law judges (ALJ), who will schedule and hold an evidentiary hearing. The ALJ will make an initial determination as to whether there is a violation of section 337; that initial determination is subject to review by the Commission.
The USITC will make a final determination in the investigation at the earliest practicable time. Within 45 days after institution of the investigation, the USITC will set a target date for completing the investigation. USITC remedial orders in section 337 cases are effective when issued and become final 60 days after issuance unless disapproved for policy reasons by the U.S. Trade Representative within that 60-day period.
News Release 24-062
Inv. No(s). TA-201-78
Contact: Jennifer Andberg, 202-205-1819
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) today determined that fine denier polyester staple fiber (PSF) is being imported into the United States in such increased quantities as to be a substantial cause of serious injury to the domestic industry producing an article like or directly competitive with the imported article.
The determination was made in the context of an investigation initiated on February 28, 2024 under section 202 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. § 2252) in response to a petition filed by
Fiber Industries LLC d/b/a Darling Fibers, Nan Ya Plastics Corp, America, and Sun Fiber LLC. Information about this investigation and global safeguard investigations is available in the factsheet.
The Commission’s determination resulted from a 4-0 vote. Chair Amy K. Karpel and Commissioners David S. Johanson, Rhonda K. Schmidtlein, and Jason E. Kearns vote in the affirmative.
As a result of today’s vote, the Commission will proceed to the remedy phase of the investigation. The Commission will hold a public hearing on remedy on July 23, 2024. The Commission will submit its report containing its injury determination, remedy recommendations, certain additional findings, and the basis for them to the President by August 26, 2024.
When the Commission makes an affirmative injury determination in a global safeguard investigation, it is required to make certain additional findings under the statutes implementing certain free trade agreements.
Pursuant to these statutes, the Commission finds that imports of fine denier PSF from neither Canada nor Mexico account for a substantial share of total imports. It also finds that imports of fine denier PSF from each other free trade agreement partner country, individually, are not a substantial cause of serious injury or threat thereof.
These findings will be forwarded to the President as part of the Commission’s report.
The President, not the Commission, will make the final decision concerning whether to provide relief to the U.S. industry and the kind of relief to provide, including with respect to imports from FTA countries.
A public report concerning the investigation will be available after the Commission submits its findings and recommendations to the President; when available, it may be accessed on the USITC website at the Commission’s Publications Library. Status of proceedings, links to relevant documents, and additional information for this investigation can be found at the Commission’s Investigations Database System (IDS).
News Release 24-058
Inv. No(s). 701-TA-690-691 and 731-TA-1619, 731-TA-1621-1625 and 731-TA-1627 (Final)
Contact: Jennifer Andberg, 202-205-1819
The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) today determined that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of paper shopping bags from Cambodia, China, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Taiwan, and Vietnam that the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) has determined are sold in the United States at less than fair value and imports of paper shopping bags that Commerce has determined are subsidized by the governments of China and India.
As a result of the Commission’s affirmative determination, Commerce will issue countervailing duty orders on imports of this product from China and India and antidumping duty orders on products imported from Cambodia, China, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
The Commission also made negative findings concerning critical circumstances with regard to imports of these products from Cambodia, China, India, Taiwan, and Vietnam. As a result, imports of paper shopping bags from these countries will not be subject to retroactive antidumping or countervailing duties.
The Commission’s public report Paper Shopping Bags from Cambodia, China, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Taiwan, and Vietnam (Inv. Nos. 701-TA-690-691 and 731-TA-1619-1625 and 731-TA-1627 (Final), USITC Publication 5522, July 2024) will contain the views of the Commission and information developed during the investigation.
The report will be available by July 19, 2024; when available, it may be accessed on the USITC website at: https://www.usitc.gov/commission_publications_library.
Status of proceedings, links to relevant documents, and additional information for these investigations can be found at the Commission’s Investigations Database System (IDS).
News Release 24-057
Contact: Jennifer Andberg, 202-205-1819
Amy A. Karpel today becomes Chair of the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC). She succeeds Rhonda K. Schmidtlein, who was serving as Chair by operation of law after David S. Johanson’s term as Chair expired on June 16, 2024. President Joseph R. Biden designated Commissioner Karpel as Chair for the term which will expire on June 16, 2026.
Chair Karpel, was nominated to the USITC by President Donald J. Trump on February 27, 2018; renominated on January 16, 2019, and June 5, 2019; and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 1, 2019. She was sworn in as a member of the Commission on August 26, 2019, for a term expiring on June 16, 2023.
Prior to her Commission appointment, Chair Karpel spent more than 13 years at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), including as Chief Counsel for Negotiations, Legislation and Administrative Law. While at USTR, Chair Karpel handled a range of international trade matters, including with respect to intellectual property, product standards, labor and environmental protections, and information communications technology.
Prior to her USTR service, Chair Karpel was an associate attorney at the law firm of Stewart and Stewart in Washington, DC. In this role, she represented clients in antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings before the USITC and the Department of Commerce. She also litigated appeals before the Court of International Trade and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Chair Karpel holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from the University of Washington and a Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from the Washington College of Law at American University. Originally from Olympia, WA, she resides in Washington, DC, with her husband and daughter.
The USITC is an independent, nonpartisan, quasi-judicial federal agency that investigates and makes determinations in proceedings involving imports claimed to injure a domestic industry, violations of U.S. intellectual property rights, or other unfair methods of competition in connection with imported goods; provides independent analysis and information on tariffs, trade, and competitiveness to the President and the Congress; and maintains the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule.
News Release 24-056
Contact: Jennifer Andberg, 202-205-1819
Rhonda K. (Schnare) Schmidtlein today becomes Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC). She succeeded outgoing Chairman David S. Johanson, whose term as Chair expired on June 16, 2024. Schmidtlein, the senior Democrat on the Commission, became Chairman by operation of law in the absence of a Presidential designation.
Chairman Schmidtlein was nominated to the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) by President Barack Obama on July 15, 2013; renominated on January 6, 2014; and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 6, 2014. She was sworn in as a member of the Commission on April 28, 2014, for the term expiring on December 16, 2021. She previously served as Chairman of the USITC from January 13, 2017, through June 16, 2018.
Chairman Schmidtlein served as an expert consultant to the World Bank for the two years immediately prior to her appointment. In that role, she provided expertise on projects that sought to strengthen audit and accounting regulation and oversight in countries with emerging markets.
From 2005-2011, Chairman Schmidtlein served as the founding Director of the Office of International Affairs created to implement the international obligations of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). The PCAOB is a regulatory agency created by Congress in 2002 to protect the interests of investors in U.S. capital markets and further the public interest in independent audit reports of U.S. public companies. Before becoming the Director of the PCAOB’s Office of International Affairs, she served as Special Counsel to the Chairman of the PCAOB.
Chairman Schmidtlein served in the General Counsel’s office at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative from 1998 to 2003. In that role, she represented the United States as Head of Delegation and lead counsel in disputes before the World Trade Organization and provided legal counsel in connection with the negotiation of numerous international trade agreements.
Earlier in her career, Chairman Schmidtlein was an Honors Program trial attorney in the Civil Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. She also was an adjunct professor for legal research and writing at the George Washington University’s National Law Center. She began her career as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Howard F. Sachs, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri.
Chairman Schmidtlein holds a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a juris doctor degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law. Originally from Carrollton, Missouri, she resides in Washington D.C. with her husband, John, and two children.
The USITC is an independent, nonpartisan, quasi-judicial federal agency that investigates and makes determinations in proceedings involving imports claimed to injure a domestic industry, violations of U.S. intellectual property rights, or other unfair methods of competition in connection with imported goods; provides independent analysis and information on tariffs, trade, and competitiveness to the President and the Congress; and maintains the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule.
News Release 24-055
Contact: Jennifer Andberg, 202-205-1819
On Friday, June 14, 2024, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) voted to institute an investigation of certain Wi-Fi access points, routers, range extenders, controllers and components thereof. The products at issue in the investigation are described in the Commission’s notice of investigation.
The investigation is based on a complaint filed by TP-Link USA Corporation of Irvine, CA, and TP-Link Corporation PTE Ltd. of Singapore, on May 7, 2024, and supplemented on May 15, 2024. The complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the United States and sale of certain Wi-Fi access points, routers, range extenders, controllers and components thereof that infringe patents asserted by the complainants. The complainants request that the USITC issue a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders.
The USITC has identified Netgear Inc. of San Jose, CA as the respondent in this investigation.
By instituting this investigation (337-TA-1405), the USITC has not yet made any decision on the merits of the case. The USITC’s Chief Administrative Law Judge will assign the case to one of the USITC’s administrative law judges (ALJ), who will schedule and hold an evidentiary hearing. The ALJ will make an initial determination as to whether there is a violation of section 337; that initial determination is subject to review by the Commission.
The USITC will make a final determination in the investigation at the earliest practicable time. Within 45 days after institution of the investigation, the USITC will set a target date for completing the investigation. USITC remedial orders in section 337 cases are effective when issued and become final 60 days after issuance unless disapproved for policy reasons by the U.S. Trade Representative within that 60-day period.
News Release 24-050
Inv. No(s). 701-TA-721 and 731-TA-1689 (Preliminary)
Contact: Michelea WMcLeod, 202-205-1819
The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) today determined that there is a reasonable indication that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of alkyl phosphate esters from China that are allegedly sold in the United States at less than fair value and subsidized by the government of China.
Chairman David S. Johanson and Commissioners Rhonda K. Schmidtlein, Jason E. Kearns, and Amy A. Karpel voted in the affirmative.
As a result of the Commission’s affirmative determination, the U.S. Department of Commerce will continue its investigations of imports of alkyl phosphate esters from China, with its preliminary countervailing duty determination due on or about July 17, 2024, and its preliminary antidumping duty determination due on or about September 30, 2024.
The Commission’s public report Alkyl Phosphate Esters from China (Inv. Nos. 701-TA-721 and 731-TA-1689 (Preliminary), USITC Publication 5516, June 2024) will contain the views of the Commission and information developed during the investigations.
The report will be available by July 5, 2024; when available, it may be accessed on the USITC website at: https://www.usitc.gov/commission_publications_library.
UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20436
FACTUAL HIGHLIGHTS
Alkyl Phosphate Esters from China
Investigation Nos. 701-TA-721 and 731-TA-1689 (Preliminary)
Product Description: Alkyl phosphate esters covered in these investigations are clear, colorless liquids that are primarily used as flame retardants in rigid and flexible polyurethane foam applications. These certain alkyl phosphate esters (“CAPEs”), specifically TCPP, TDCP, and TEP, have at their core a phosphate ion in which three of the oxygen atoms are bonded with either a chlorinated hydrocarbon in the case of TCPP and TDCP or a hydrocarbon in the case of TEP. CAPEs are primarily used as flame retardants in foam insulation in commercial and residential construction. One of the largest applications for CAPEs is commercial roofing. The fastest growing application in the U.S. market is the replacement of fiberglass insulation with low-density, open cell insulation in residential housing. TCPP is the most used CAPE in the U.S. market, largely due to its cost effectiveness.
Status of Proceedings:
- Types of investigations: Preliminary countervailing duty and antidumping duty investigations.
- Petitioner: ICL-IP America, St. Louis, Missouri.
- USITC Institution Date: Tuesday, April 23, 2024.
- USITC Conference Date: Tuesday, May 14, 2024.
- USITC Vote Date: Thursday, June 6, 2024.
- USITC Notification to Commerce Date: Friday, June 7, 2024.
U.S. Industry in 2023:
- Number of U.S. producers: 2.
- Location of producers’ plants: South Carolina and West Virginia.
- Production and related workers: 1
- U.S. producers’ U.S. shipments: 1
- Apparent U.S. consumption: 1
- Ratio of subject imports to apparent U.S. consumption: 1
U.S. Imports in 2023:
- Subject imports: 1
- Nonsubject imports: 1
Leading import sources: China.
1 Withheld to avoid disclosure of business proprietary information.
News Release 24-047
Inv. No(s). 332-601
Contact: Philip Stone, 202-205-1819
The United States remained the world’s largest services market and was the world’s leading exporter and importer of services in 2022, reports the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) in its new publication Recent Trends in U.S. Services Trade, 2024 Annual Report. The U.S. services sector also continues to represent the largest sector of the U.S. economy.
The USITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, compiles the report annually. Each year’s report presents a qualitative and quantitative overview of U.S. trade in services and highlights some of the services sectors and geographic markets that contribute substantially to recent services trade performance.
This year’s report focuses on trade in financial services, which includes a wide range of activities that are responsible for facilitating monetary transactions, lending to consumers and firms, mobilizing and managing savings, providing liquidity in debt and equity markets, advising and underwriting corporate finance transactions, and developing instruments that manage risk.
The report includes a special topic section on the impact of higher inflation and interest rates, as well as two thematic chapters that focus on the use of digital and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in financial services and discuss changing demand for financial services related to sustainability, weather events, and the expansion of capital markets in emerging economies. Each of the subsectors in financial services (banking, insurance, and securities) are addressed in the special topic section and the two thematic chapters.
Financial services firms continued to digitalize their operations while looking to implement new AI technologies.
- In banking, increasing digitalization has allowed banks to use advanced analytics in new ways throughout their operations. Middle- and back-office functions are using AI to improve fraud detection, risk management, and credit approvals.
- In insurance, firms are continuing to digitalize their operations, including to sort claims and applications, calculate risk scores, and verify and complete software applications. Insurers are also increasingly employing AI to aid pricing, claims processing, fraud detection, and underwriting.
- In securities, firms such as investment banks and hedge funds have digitalized their processes, including through algorithmic trading strategies driven by machine learning and AI, and have introduced market innovations such as tokenized assets using blockchain technologies.
Financial services firms are expanding the range of products and services they offer in response to heightened customer demand for sustainability and financial inclusion, as well as contributing to the growth of capital markets in emerging economies.
- In banking, banks have prioritized sustainability (as it relates to climate change, gender equality, and financial inclusion) in response to growing demand for sustainable investment products and the increasing number of international frameworks focused on these issues.
- In insurance, global property and casualty insurance companies have experienced changing demand conditions, including an increase in global insured losses, driven by such factors as increased population and development in coastal and other vulnerable areas, increased insurable values of physical assets, and the incidence and location of extreme weather events.
- In securities, securities markets in emerging economies, especially large ones like China and India, are seeing increased transaction volumes and a broader range of securities products because of increased incomes and demand for additional savings and investment opportunities.
The USITC hosted its 17th annual services roundtable, which was held on November 2, 2023. The discussion, summarized in the report, focused on infrastructure development and financing and services trade, and building services trade capacity.
Recent Trends in U.S. Services Trade, 2024 Annual Report (Investigation No. 332-601, USITC publication 5512, May 2024) is available on the USITC's website at http://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/pub5512.pdf.