United States International Trade Commission
Encyclopedia
The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) is an independent, bi-partisan
Partisan (political)
In politics, a partisan is a committed member of a political party. In multi-party systems, the term is widely understood to carry a negative connotation - referring to those who wholly support their party's policies and are perhaps even reluctant to acknowledge correctness on the part of their...

, quasi-judicial, federal
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...

 agency of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 that provides trade expertise to both the legislative
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

 and executive
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...

 branches. Further, the agency determines the impact of import
Import
The term import is derived from the conceptual meaning as to bring in the goods and services into the port of a country. The buyer of such goods and services is referred to an "importer" who is based in the country of import whereas the overseas based seller is referred to as an "exporter". Thus...

s on U.S. industries and directs actions against certain unfair trade practices, such as subsidies, dumping
Dumping (pricing policy)
In economics, "dumping" is any kind of predatory pricing, especially in the context of international trade. It occurs when manufacturers export a product to another country at a price either below the price charged in its home market, or in quantities that cannot be explained through normal market...

, patent
Patent infringement
Patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention without permission from the patent holder. Permission may typically be granted in the form of a license. The definition of patent infringement may vary by jurisdiction, but it typically includes using or...

, trademark
Trademark infringement
Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attaching to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees...

, and copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...

.

Background and statutory authority

The USITC was established by Congress on September 8, 1916 as the U.S. Tariff Commission. In 1974, the name was changed to the U.S. International Trade Commission by section 171 of the Trade Act of 1974
Trade Act of 2002
The Trade Act of 2002 granted the President of the United States the authority to negotiate trade deals with other countries and gives Congress the approval to only vote up or down on the agreement, not to amend it. This authority is sometimes called fast track authority, since it is thought to...

. The agency has broad investigative powers on matters of trade. The USITC is a national resource where trade data is gathered and analyzed. This data is provided to the President and Congress as part of the information on which U.S. international trade policy is based.

Statutory authority for the Commission's responsibilities is provided primarily by the Tariff Act of 1930, the Agricultural Adjustment Act, the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the Trade Act of 1974, the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, the Trade and Tariff Act of 1984, the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, and the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.

Mission

In its own words, the mission of the Commission is to:
  1. Administer U.S. trade remedy laws within its mandate in a fair and objective manner;
  2. Provide the President
    President of the United States
    The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

    , Office of the United States Trade Representative
    Office of the United States Trade Representative
    The Office of the United States Trade Representative is the United States government agency responsible for developing and recommending United States trade policy to the president of the United States, conducting trade negotiations at bilateral and multilateral levels, and coordinating trade...

    , and Congress
    United States Congress
    The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

     with independent, quality analysis, information, and support on matters of tariffs and international trade and competitiveness; and
  3. Maintain the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.


In so doing, the Commission serves the public by implementing U.S. law and contributing to the development and implementation of sound and informed U.S. trade policy.

The ITC's five operations include:
  1. Import Injury Investigations
  2. Intellectual Property-Based Import Investigations
  3. Research Program
  4. Trade Information Services
  5. Trade Policy Support

Commissioners

The USITC is headed by six Commissioners. Each Commissioner is nominated by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

. The formal commission is signed by the President and the Secretary of State. Commissioners are appointed by the President for 9-year terms, unless they are appointed to fill an unexpired term. Terms are scheduled to end 18 months apart. No more than three of the Commissioners may be of the same political party, and commissioners may not be reappointed after 5 years of service. The Chairman and Vice Chairman are designated by the President for two year terms, and successive Chairmen may not be of the same political party. Only a Commissioner with more than one year of service may be designated Chairman.

The current Commissioners are (in order of precedence):
  • Deanna Tanner Okun (Chairman) (R-ID)
  • Charlotte R. Lane (R-WV)
  • Daniel R. Pearson
    Daniel R. Pearson
    Daniel R. Pearson is the Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission.Pearson, a Republican from Minnesota, was nominated to the United States International Trade Commission by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 21, 2004 for the term ending June 16, 2011....

     (R-MN)
  • Shara L. Aranoff
    Shara L. Aranoff
    Shara L. Aranoff is the Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission. Aranoff was nominated to the Commission by President George W. Bush on April 27, 2005 for the term ending December 16, 2012. Her nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 29, 2005, and she was sworn in as a...

     (D-MD)
  • Irving A. Williamson (D-NY)
  • Dean A. Pinkert
    Dean A. Pinkert
    Dean Arthur Pinkert is an American trade lawyer.-International Trade Commissioner:Dean Arthur Pinkert was sworn in as a member of the International Trade Commission on February 26, 2007 for a term expiring in December 2015. He succeeded Jennifer Anne Hillman.President George W...

     (D-VA)


Nominated by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 September 7, 2006, Commissioners Pinkert and Williamson replaced Jennifer A. Hillman
Jennifer A. Hillman
Jennifer Anne Hillman was nominated to the International Trade Commission by President Bill Clinton in March 1998 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 30, 1998. She was sworn in as a member of the Commission on August 4, 1998, for a term expiring on December 16, 2006. Hillman served as Vice...

 (D-IN) and Stephen Koplan (D-VA) after Senate confirmation February 1, 2007.

Hearings

Although the USITC is not a court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...

, its administrative law judge
Administrative law judge
An administrative law judge in the United States is an official who presides at an administrative trial-type hearing to resolve a dispute between a government agency and someone affected by a decision of that agency. The ALJ is usually the initial trier of fact and decision maker...

s conduct trial-type official administrative hearings. If a Section 337 Tariff Act complaint has at least three votes from its six Commissioners, an official investigative hearing will be assigned to an administrative law judge.

See also

  • Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
    Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
    The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights is an international agreement administered by the World Trade Organization that sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property regulation as applied to nationals of other WTO Members...

  • Doha Round
    Doha round
    The Doha Development Round or Doha Development Agenda is the current trade-negotiation round of the World Trade Organization which commenced in November 2001. Its objective is to lower trade barriers around the world, which will help facilitate the increase of global trade...

  • Generalized System of Preferences
    Generalized System of Preferences
    The Generalized System of Preferences, or GSP, is a formal system of exemption from the more general rules of the World Trade Organization ,...

  • International Trade Administration
    International Trade Administration
    The International Trade Administration is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that promotes United States exports of nonagricultural U.S...

  • Office of the United States Trade Representative
    Office of the United States Trade Representative
    The Office of the United States Trade Representative is the United States government agency responsible for developing and recommending United States trade policy to the president of the United States, conducting trade negotiations at bilateral and multilateral levels, and coordinating trade...

  • United States Commercial Service
    United States Commercial Service
    The United States Commercial Service is the trade promotion arm of the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration, which helps U.S. companies succeed in markets around the world. Led by Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General Suresh Kumar and located across the...

  • World Trade Organization
    World Trade Organization
    The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...

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