---

BACKGROUND

The Uruguay Round Agreements Act requires the Department of Commerce to revoke an antidumping or countervailing duty order, or terminate a suspension agreement, after five years unless the Department of Commerce and the USITC determine that revoking the order or terminating the suspension agreement would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping or subsidies (Commerce) and of material injury (USITC) within a reasonably foreseeable time. 

The Commission’s institution notice in five-year reviews requests that interested parties file responses with the Commission concerning the likely effects of revoking the order under review as well as other information. Generally within 95 days from institution, the Commission will determine whether the responses it has received reflect an adequate or inadequate level of interest in a full review. If responses to the USITC’s notice of institution are adequate, or if other circumstances warrant a full review, the Commission conducts a full review, which includes a public hearing and issuance of questionnaires.

The Commission generally does not hold a hearing or conduct further investigative activities in expedited reviews.  Commissioners base their injury determination in expedited reviews on the facts available, including the Commission’s prior injury and review determinations, responses received to its notice of institution, data collected by staff in connection with the reviews, and information provided by the Department of Commerce.

These five-year (sunset) reviews concerning Drawn Stainless Steel Sinks from China were instituted on July 3, 2023.

On October 6, 2023, the Commission voted to conduct expedited reviews. Chairman David S. Johanson and Commissioners Rhonda K. Schmidtlein, Jason E. Kearns, and Amy A. Karpel concluded that the domestic interested party group response was adequate and the respondent interested party group responses were inadequate and voted for expedited reviews. Commissioner Randolph J. Stayin did not participate.

A record of the Commission’s vote to conduct expedited reviews is available from the Office of the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436.  Requests may be made by telephone by calling 202-205-1802.

---

UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION 
Washington, DC 20436 

FACTUAL HIGHLIGHTS 

Gas Powered Pressure Washers from China  

Product Description:  The products covered by these investigations are cold-water gas powered pressure washers ("GPPW"). These machines have three main components: an internal combustion engine, a power take-off shaft, and a positive displacement pump. Together, these components are known as the "power unit." GPPW include both finished and unfinished gas powered pressure washers, which include, at a minimum, the power unit, or components of the components of the power unit, packaged or imported together. Additional components, including, but not limited to, spray guns, nozzles, and hoses, may accompany the power unit.  

Status of Proceedings: 

1. Type of investigation:  Final antidumping and countervailing duty investigations. 
2. Petitioners:  FNA Group, Inc. 
3. USITC Institution Date:  Friday, December 30, 2022. 
4. USITC Hearing Date:  Thursday, August 24, 2023. 
5. USITC Vote Date:  Wednesday, January 24, 2024.¹
6. USITC Notification to Commerce Date: Monday, February 5, 2024.  

U.S. Industry in 2022: 

1. Number of U.S. producers:  4. 
2. Location of producers’ plants:  Arkansas, Minnesota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. 
3. Production and related workers: ²
4. U.S. producers’ U.S. shipments:  ²
5. Apparent U.S. consumption:  ² 
6. Ratio of subject imports to apparent U.S. consumption:  ²  

U.S. Imports in 2022: 

1. Subject imports:  ² 
2. Nonsubject imports:  ² 
3. Leading import sources:  China, Vietnam. 

Shifts in U.S. Merchandise Trade 2022 (Trade Shifts 2022) is now available on the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) website.

Beginning this year, the USITC, an independent, nonpartisan factfinding federal agency, is transitioning its annual Trade Shifts series of reports to a data-only format featuring tables and figures posted on the USITC website (http://www.usitc.gov). In the future, these tables and figures will be updated at regular intervals—at least annually—to reflect up-to-date U.S. government trade data.

As in past years, these data tables and figures incorporate interactive features that allow users to refine and view, as they choose, official U.S. government trade data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. Part I provides data pertaining to the most substantial trends in merchandise trade by industry sector and selected partner countries, and Part II provides more focused data for ten U.S. industry sectors, covering 92 percent of total U.S. merchandise trade in 2022. Each section includes a downloadable data set covering annual U.S. merchandise trade trends from 2018 through 2022.

Shifts in U.S. Merchandise Trade 2022 can be accessed at https://www.usitc.gov/research_and_analysis/tradeshifts/2022/index.

Status of Proceedings:

1. Type of investigation:  Preliminary countervailing duty and antidumping duty investigations.
2. Petitioner: Worthington Industries, Inc., Columbus, OH.
3. USITC Institution Date:  Thursday, April 27, 2023.
4. USITC Conference Date:  Thursday, May 18, 2023.
5. USITC Vote Date:  Friday, June 9, 2023.
6. USITC Notification to Commerce Date:  Monday, June 12, 2023.

U.S. Industry in 2022:

1. Number of U.S. producers:  One.
2. Location of producer’s plants:  Kentucky and Ohio.
3. Production and related workers:  ¹
4. U.S. producer’s U.S. shipments:  ¹
5. Apparent U.S. consumption:  ¹
6. Ratio of subject imports to apparent U.S. consumption:  ¹

U.S. Imports in 2022:

1. Subject imports:  ¹
2. Nonsubject imports:  ¹
3. Leading import sources:  China, India.

---

BACKGROUND

The Uruguay Round Agreements Act requires the Department of Commerce to revoke an antidumping or countervailing duty order, or terminate a suspension agreement, after five years unless the Department of Commerce and the USITC determine that revoking the order or terminating the suspension agreement would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping or subsidies (Commerce) and of material injury (USITC) within a reasonably foreseeable time. 

The Commission’s institution notice in five-year reviews requests that interested parties file responses with the Commission concerning the likely effects of revoking the order under review as well as other information. Generally within 95 days from institution, the Commission will determine whether the responses it has received reflect an adequate or inadequate level of interest in a full review. If responses to the USITC’s notice of institution are adequate, or if other circumstances warrant a full review, the Commission conducts a full review, which includes a public hearing and issuance of questionnaires.

The Commission generally does not hold a hearing or conduct further investigative activities in expedited reviews.  Commissioners base their injury determination in expedited reviews on the facts available, including the Commission’s prior injury and review determinations, responses received to its notice of institution, data collected by staff in connection with the review, and information provided by the Department of Commerce.

The five-year (sunset) reviews concerning Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from China, India, Thailand, and Vietnam were instituted on May 2, 2022.

On August 5, 2022, the Commission voted to conduct full reviews. With respect to India, Thailand, and Vietnam, Chairman David S. Johanson and Commissioners Rhonda K. Schmidtlein, Jason E. Kearns, Randolph J. Stayin, and Amy A. Karpel concluded that both the domestic and the respondent group responses were adequate and voted for full reviews. With respect to China, Chairman David S. Johanson and Commissioners Rhonda K. Schmidtlein, Jason E. Kearns, Randolph J. Stayin, and Amy A. Karpel concluded that the domestic group response was adequate and the respondent group response was inadequate but that circumstances warranted a full review. 

A record of the Commission’s vote to conduct full reviews is available from the Office of the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436.  Requests may be made by telephone by calling 202-205-1802.

The United States was the world's largest services market and was the world’s leading exporter and importer of services in 2021, reports the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) in its new publication Recent Trends in U.S. Services Trade, 2023 Annual Report. As also noted in the report, preliminary data on U.S. cross-border services trade for 2022 show that total services exports were 15.9 percent higher in 2022 compared to 2021.

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 distribution services, including specific discussions on retail supply chains, e-commerce, logistics, warehousing, maritime shipping, port services, trucking and rail, air cargo, and express delivery via drones. Each section analyzes global market conditions in the industry and summarizes the industry’s outlook.

The report describes detailed trade in services via cross-border transactions through 2021 and via affiliate sales through 2020, as well as preliminary cross-border trade data for 2022 (latest available data). Several highlights are listed below.

• In 2021, the services sector represented the largest sector of the U.S. economy, and the United States is the world’s top cross-border exporter and importer of services. U.S. exports of private services totaled $771.9 billion, whereas imports totaled $524.9 billion, resulting in a $247.0 billion trade surplus.
• Within the services sector, sales by foreign affiliates of U.S. firms—the leading channel by which many U.S. services are delivered to foreign markets—totaled $1.6 trillion in 2020 while the value of services purchased from foreign-owned affiliates in the United States totaled $1.2 trillion. 
• The distribution services sector includes a wide range of activities that facilitate the movement of goods through the supply chain from producer to end consumer. Distribution services accounted for 7.1 percent of total cross-border services exports and 17.4 percent of imports in 2021. They represented 27.4 percent of total sales by the foreign affiliates of U.S. firms and 29.5 percent of total purchases from the U.S. affiliates of foreign firms in 2020.

Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic created challenges for global supply chains and the distribution services that enable them, while recent volatility in consumer demand for goods imports and pandemic-related measures disrupted distribution and transportation networks. At the same time, firms have adopted new technologies to improve competitiveness and reach new customers. Distribution networks, including retail, logistics, and warehousing, adapted to these developments in a myriad of ways. In particular:

• In retail supply chains, the pandemic highlighted the limits of longstanding global supply chain practices such as just-in-time inventory management, with firms shifting to focus on supply chain resiliency and increasing transparency;
• In e-commerce, global e-commerce marketplace platforms have increasingly allowed small and medium-sized enterprises to reach foreign customers, driven by advances in digital technology;
• In logistics, innovation (including adoption of data analytics and tracking technologies) and new business models helped the industry improve efficiency competitiveness; and
• In warehousing, increased demand led to rapid growth in the sector while highlighting labor issues such as high turnover, labor availability issues, and injuries.

Pandemic-related disruptions also led to recent developments in transportation services, including maritime shipping, ports, trucking and rail, air cargo, and express delivery via drone.

• In maritime shipping, increased demand for sea freight led to record profitability for carriers and increased government scrutiny of the industry.
• In port services, congestion resulted in increased wait times, delays, and costs at ports, while spurring investment in port expansion and automation, but delays and prices have fallen sharply since late 2022.
• In trucking and rail, the pandemic exacerbated longstanding labor issues in these networks, which are vital in connecting consumers to global supply chains.
• In air cargo, passenger air travel was disrupted during the pandemic, decreasing air cargo capacity, while the entry of new air cargo providers in the sector led to increased competition.
• In express delivery via drone, the market remained small and was developing slowly, but firms continue to pilot new drone delivery projects.

The USITC hosted its 16th annual Services Roundtable, which was held virtually, on November 2, 2022. The discussion, summarized in the report, focused on recent global economic and political shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic and trade policy uncertainty, as well as the impact of these shocks on distribution services.

Recent Trends in U.S. Services Trade, 2023 Annual Report (Investigation No. 332-594, USITC publication 5431, May 2023) is available on the USITC's Internet site at https://usitc.gov/publications/332/pub5431.pdf. The link to the interactive dashboard is:  https://www.usitc.gov/publications/industry_econ_analysis_332/2023/recent_trends_us_services_trade_2023_annual_report.

 

About factfinding investigations: USITC general factfinding investigations, such as this one, cover matters related to tariffs, trade, and competitiveness 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.

---

BACKGROUND

The Uruguay Round Agreements Act requires the Department of Commerce to revoke an antidumping or countervailing duty order, or terminate a suspension agreement, after five years unless the Department of Commerce and the USITC determine that revoking the order or terminating the suspension agreement would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping or subsidies (Commerce) and of material injury (USITC) within a reasonably foreseeable time. 

The Commission’s institution notice in five-year reviews requests that interested parties file responses with the Commission concerning the likely effects of revoking the order under review as well as other information. Generally within 95 days from institution, the Commission will determine whether the responses it has received reflect an adequate or inadequate level of interest in a full review.  If responses to the USITC’s notice of institution are adequate, or if other circumstances warrant a full review, the Commission conducts a full review, which includes a public hearing and issuance of questionnaires.

The Commission generally does not hold a hearing or conduct further investigative activities in expedited reviews.  Commissioners base their injury determination in expedited reviews on the facts available, including the Commission’s prior injury and review determinations, responses received to its notice of institution, data collected by staff in connection with the reviews, and information provided by the Department of Commerce.

The five-year (sunset) reviews concerning Biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia (Review) were instituted on December 1, 2022.

On March 6, 2023, the Commission voted to conduct expedited reviews. Chairman David S. Johanson and Commissioners Rhonda K. Schmidtlein, Jason E. Kearns, Randolph J. Stayin, and Amy A. Karpel concluded that the domestic interested party group response was adequate and the respondent interested party group responses were inadequate and voted for expedited reviews. 

A record of the Commission’s vote to conduct expedited reviews is available from the Office of the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436.  Requests may be made by telephone by calling 202-205-1802.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) voted to institute an investigation of certain blood flow restriction devices with rotatable windlasses 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 Composite Resources, Inc., of Rock Hill, SC, and North American Rescue, LLC, of Greer, SC, on April 24, 2023, and supplemented on April 27, 2023, May 11, 2023, and May 18, 2023. The complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the United States and sale of certain blood flow restriction devices with rotatable windlasses and components thereof that infringe patents, trademarks, and trade dress asserted by the complainants. The complainants request that the USITC issue a permanent general exclusion order, or in the alternative a permanent limited exclusion order, and permanent cease and desist orders. 

The USITC has identified the following respondents in this investigation:

• Anping Longji Medical Equipment Factory of Hengshui City, Hebei Province, China;
• Chaozhou Jiduo Trading Co., Ltd., (d/b/a Jiduostore; d/b/a Palawaik) of Chaozhou City, China; 
• Dongguan Hongsui Electronic Commerce Co., Ltd., (d/b/a Holsure) of Dongguan City, Houjie Town, Guangdong Province, China;
• Dongguanwin Si Hai Precision Mold Co., Ltd., of Changan, Dongguan, China; 
• Eiffel Medical Supplies Co., Ltd., of Shenzhen, Guangdong, China; 
• Empire State Distributors Inc. (d/b/a Gallica) of Brooklyn, NY;
• EMRN Medical Equipment of LaSalle, Quebec, Canada; 
• Express Companies, Inc., of Oceanside, CA; 
• Fuzhou Meirun Medical Equipment Technology Co., Ltd., (d/b/a Jusaid) of Fuzhou, Jiangxi, China; 
• GD Tianwu New Material Tech Co., Ltd., of Shawan Town, Panyu District, Guangzhou China; 
• Henan Eyocean E-Commerce Co., Ltd., (d/b/a Eyocean) of Huiji District, Zhengzhou, Henan, China; 
• Hengshui Runde Medical Instruments Co., Ltd., of Hengshui City, Hebei Province, China; 
• Huang Xia (d/b/a Furlove) of Sangzi Town, Xinhua County, Hunan, China; 
• Jingcai Jiang (d/b/a Furlove) of Shenzhen, GuangDong, China;
• Putian Dima Trading Co., Ltd., (d/b/a Dimai; d/b/a Zeculay) of Putian City, Hanjiang District, Fujian Province, China; 
• Rhino Inc. (d/b/a RhinoRescue) of Lewes, DE; 
• Shanghai Sixu International Freight Agent Co., Ltd., of Shanghai, China;
• Shen Yi (d/b/a SZCTKlink) of Shenzhen, Guangdong, China; 
• Shenzhen Anben E-Commerce Co., Ltd. (d/b/a Awelife; d/b/a Ansudylg) of Shenzhen, China; 
• Shenzhen Janxle E E Commerce Co., Ltd., of Shenzhen, China;
• Shenzhen Smart Medical Co. Ltd., of Shenzhen, China; 
• Shenzhen TMI Medical Supplies Co., Ltd., (d/b/a Tanmi Medical) of Shenzhen, China; 
• Shenzhen Yujie Commercial and Trading Co., Ltd., (d/b/a Cozii Tourniquet) of Shenzhen, China; 
• Sun Minghui (d/b/a SunQQQ; d/b/a Familyhouse) of Shenzhen, Guangdong, China; 
• SZY Holdings LLC, of Brooklyn, NY; 
• Wuxi Emsrun Technology Co., Ltd., of Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, China; 
• Wuxi Golden Hour Medical Technology Co., Ltd., (d/b/a YeYe Tactical) of Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, China; 
• Wuxi Puneda Technology Co., Ltd., of Wuxi, China;
• Xia Guo Long (d/b/a Jusaid) of Dongguan City, Nancheng District, Guangdong Province, China; and 
• Yinping Yin (d/b/a Dealpeak) of Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.

By instituting this investigation (337-TA-1364), 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.

---

BACKGROUND

The Uruguay Round Agreements Act requires the Department of Commerce to revoke an antidumping or countervailing duty order, or terminate a suspension agreement, after five years unless the Department of Commerce and the USITC determine that revoking the order or terminating the suspension agreement would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping or subsidies (Commerce) and of material injury (USITC) within a reasonably foreseeable time. 

The Commission’s institution notice in five-year reviews requests that interested parties file responses with the Commission concerning the likely effects of revoking the order under review as well as other information. Generally within 95 days from institution, the Commission will determine whether the responses it has received reflect an adequate or inadequate level of interest in a full review. If responses to the USITC’s notice of institution are adequate, or if other circumstances warrant a full review, the Commission conducts a full review, which includes a public hearing and issuance of questionnaires.

The Commission generally does not hold a hearing or conduct further investigative activities in expedited reviews. Commissioners base their injury determination in expedited reviews on the facts available, including the Commission’s prior injury and review determinations, responses received to its notice of institution, data collected by staff in connection with the reviews, and information provided by the Department of Commerce.

The five-year (sunset) reviews concerning Carbon and Alloy Seamless Standard, Line, and Pressure Pipe from Japan and Romania (Fourth Review) were instituted on October 3, 2022.

On January 6, 2023, the Commission voted to conduct expedited reviews. Chairman David S. Johanson and Commissioners Rhonda K. Schmidtlein, Jason E. Kearns, Randolph J. Stayin, and Amy A. Karpel concluded that the domestic interested party group response was adequate and the respondent interested party group responses were inadequate. Commissioners Schmidtlein, Kearns, Stayin, and Karpel voted for expedited reviews. Chairman Johanson voted for full reviews. 

A record of the Commission’s vote to conduct expedited reviews is available from the Office of the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436.  Requests may be made by telephone by calling 202-205-1802.

The U.S. International Commission (USITC) today released a report on the operation of the U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ) program and similar programs (FTZ-type programs) in Canada and Mexico, as well as the impacts of these programs on employment and the cost-competitiveness of products of firms operating in U.S. FTZs. 

The investigation, Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs): Effects of FTZ Policies and Practices on U.S. Firms Operating in U.S. FTZs and Under Similar Programs in Canada and Mexico, was requested by the U.S. Trade Representative in a letter received on December 14, 2021. 

As requested, the USITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, reported on the operations of U.S. FTZs and FTZ-type programs, and the effects of relevant policies and practices on employment and the cost-competitiveness of goods produced in U.S. FTZs. As part of its investigation, the Commission conducted a survey of firms producing in U.S. FTZs and used the questionnaire results in its quantitative and qualitative analyses. Per the request, the report includes: 

• An overview of economic activity in FTZs operating in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, including but not limited to employment, leading sectors, shipments, exports, and foreign direct investment in FTZs;
• An overview of current FTZ policies and practices in the United States, Canada, and Mexico;
• An analysis of the cost-competitiveness effects of current FTZ policies and practices in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, including effects on relative production costs and U.S. employment; and
• Case studies on the impact of U.S. FTZs and FTZ-type programs on the automotive, upholstered furniture manufacturing, petroleum refining, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and warehousing and distribution industries. 

Detailed highlights of the Commission's findings can be found in the report's Executive Summary. 

Findings include:

• Central features of the U.S. FTZ program and FTZ-type programs in Canada and Mexico are the special tariff treatments, principally duty deferral, duty exemption, duty reduction, and duty drawback. 
• The cost-competitiveness effects of the U.S. FTZ program and FTZ-type programs in Canada and Mexico are impacted by multiple factors, including the design of the programs, national tariff regimes and applicable rates of duty, other trade policies, and material sourcing and destination markets for firms’ shipments. 
• Canada and Mexico carried out substantial unilateral tariff reductions since the early 1990s (coinciding with the signature and implementation of NAFTA) which impact the attractiveness and usage of their respective FTZ-type programs. Other examples of policies that affect the programs are the restrictions in the North American Free Trade Agreement and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on the use of drawback and duty exemption for goods produced in FTZs and exported to USMCA partner countries. Such restrictions limit duty benefits available under U.S. FTZs and FTZ-type programs in Canada and Mexico.
• Overall, U.S FTZs improve cost-competitiveness of U.S. firms primarily through duty reduction on shipments that make customs entry in the United States and duty exemption on direct export shipments from U.S. FTZs. Firms producing in FTZs experienced duty cost savings of $1.2 billion in 2021 using these two features of U.S. FTZs. 
• Although most firms producing in U.S. FTZs experience net cost savings through use of the program, fewer firms consider their FTZ use to be a factor causing increases in investment, output, or employment in the United States. 
• The reasons for and benefits of using the programs vary across sectors. In certain sectors, such as the automotive industry, firms cannot use the U.S. FTZ program to reduce their duty costs to zero due to the non-free normal trade relation (NTR) rates of duty applicable to automotive inputs and finished goods. This may put U.S. producers at a competitive disadvantage relative to firms operating in Canada and Mexico due to free rates of duty applicable to most inputs (in the case of Canada) or to the particular features of the FTZ-type programs (in the case of Mexico).

Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs): Effects of FTZ Policies and Practices on U.S. Firms Operating in U.S. FTZs and Under Similar Programs in Canada and Mexico (Investigation No. 332-588, USITC Publication 5423, April 2023) is available on the USITC’s website at https://usitc.gov/publications/332/pub5423.pdf.

 

 

About factfinding investigations: USITC general factfinding investigations, such as this one, cover matters related to tariffs, trade, and competitiveness 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.

Subscribe to USITC