USITC Response to COVID-19

The USITC is open for business and will continuously monitor the situation.

• In the past several weeks, there has been a growing concern over the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) across the world.


• The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have provided preliminary guidance to agencies regarding COVID-19, and the USITC has reviewed its Continuity of Operations (COOP) plan.


• Out of an abundance of caution, and with the interests of our employees and those who have business before the Commission in mind, the Commission is undertaking certain measures that will affect how you do business with the agency.

Following are the actions the Commission is implementing at this time. All actions will be in effect until May 12, 2020, unless otherwise stated below, or extended.

GENERAL PRACTICE

• Effective March 17, 2020, all U.S. International Trade Commission employees are teleworking full time. Commission staff may be contacted via telephone and email as usual. Certain specific contacts are also listed below.
   
• Federal Register notices announcing any changes to its rules, practices, and procedures:
  • USITC Rules of Practice and Procedure (337 Investigations) including updates through March 19, 2020
  • USITC Rules of Practice and Procedure (Title 7 Investigations) including updates through March 19, 2020
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• The Secretary’s Office will accept only electronic filings during this time. Filings 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. Guidance on this matter will be forthcoming.

VISITOR ACCESS to the USITC Building - UPDATED

• The USITC Building is now closed to the public entirely through April 3, 2020.  This closure may be extended if necessary; information will be updated here.  As noted above, the Secretary’s Office will only accept electronic filings.

SECTION 337 HEARINGS

• The Commission will be ordering the Administrative Law Judges to postpone any hearings scheduled in the next 60 days. The Commission will re-evaluate the schedule after 45 days for any additional postponements. Guidance on this matter will be forthcoming.


• All discovery will continue and any essential outside participation by staff will be decided on a case-by-case basis. Guidance on this matter will be forthcoming.


• Notice of Postponement of Section 337 Hearings

TITLE VII PRELIMINARY CONFERENCES, HEARINGS, VOTES AND FACTFINDING HEARINGS

• The Commission will cancel Title VII (antidumping and countervailing duty) preliminary phase staff conferences for the next 60 days, and the agency will issue notices for written submissions. More information and guidance on this matter will be forthcoming.


• The Commission will conduct all Title VII votes by notation, and there will be no in-person vote for the next 60 days. More information on this matter will be forthcoming.


• Regarding hearings (final phase Title VII investigations, five-year (sunset) reviews, and those held under Section 332 and Section 131), the Commission has decided not to hold in-person hearings. In lieu of in-person hearings, interested parties will be invited to answer written questions issued by the Commission with certified written responses. More information and guidance on this matter will be forthcoming.


• The Commission will issue Federal Register notices announcing changes for all scheduled preliminary conferences, hearings, and votes in the coming days.

AGENCY MEETINGS, SEMINARS, AND BRIEFINGS WITH OUTSIDE VISITORS

• All scheduled in-person group meetings, seminars, and conferences are canceled or postponed for the next 60 days. If you were scheduled for a meeting, seminar, or conference at the USITC building, contact the event organizer for further information.

VENDORS – INVOICE SUBMISSION

• Vendors should continue to submit invoices to Invoices@usitc.gov. The Commission will continue to process them as normal.

QUESTIONS?

Media inquiries and general questions: Peg O’Laughlin, margaret.olaughlin@usitc.gov

Filing questions: edis3help@usitc.gov
[Note: general telephone lines in the office of the Secretary will not be monitored. Please send an email with your contact information and a staff member will call you.]

Hearing-related questions: commissionhearings@usitc.gov or preliminaryconferences@usitc.gov

FEDERAL LINKS ABOUT COVID-19

The U.S. government has established 3 top-level websites for the latest official information on coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).

• coronavirus.gov is the primary portal for public information curated by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Task Force at the White House, working in conjunction with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other agency stakeholders, and links to the appropriate Federal agency website as the authoritative source for that information as necessary.
   
• Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (www.cdc.gov/coronavirus) provides the latest public health and safety information from the CDC and for the overarching medical and health provider community on COVID-19. The site contains consumer and medical information on how the virus spreads, symptoms, prevention and treatment, stigma, cases and what to do if you are sick, along with frequently asked questions.
   
• What the U.S. Government is Doing  (www.usa.gov/coronavirus)  catalogs all U.S. government activities related to COVID-19; it is also available in Spanish at https://www.usa.gov/espanol/coronavirus.