[United States Government Manual]
[September 15, 2009]
[Pages 529-534]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

500 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20436
Phone, 202-205-2000. Internet, www.usitc.gov.
CHAIRMAN                                          Shara L. Aranoff
Vice Chairman                                     Daniel R. Pearson
Commissioners                                     Charlotte R. Lane, 
                                                          Deanna Tanner 
                                                          Okun, Dean A. 
                                                          Pinkert,Irving 
                                                          A. Williamson
Chief Administrative Law Judge                    Paul J. Luckern

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Administrative Law Judges                         Charles E. Bullock, 
                                                          Carl C. 
                                                          Charneski, 
                                                          Theodore R. 
                                                          Essex, James 
                                                          E. Gildea, 
                                                          Robert K. 
                                                          Rogers, Jr.
Director, Office of Administration/Chief          Stephen McLaughlin
        Information Officer
Deputy Chief Information Officer                  Pamela C. Dyson
Director, Office of Economics                     Robert B. Koopman
Director, Office of External Relations            Lyn M. Schlitt
Congressional Relations Officer                   Dominic L. Bianchi
Public Affairs Officer                            Margaret M. O'Laughlin
Trade Remedy Assistance Program Manager           John J. Greer
Director, Office of Equal Employment Opportunity  Jacqueline A. Waters
Director, Office of Industries                    Karen Laney-Cummings
Division Chief, Agriculture and Fisheries         Jonathan Coleman
Division Chief, Natural Resources and Metals      Robert Carr
Division Chief, Chemicals and Textiles            Dennis Rapkins
Division Chief, Advanced Technology and           Michael Anderson
        Machinery
Division Chief, Services                          Richard W. Brown
Director, Office of Investigations                John Ascienzo, Acting
Director, Office of Operations                    Robert Rogowsky
Director, Office of Tariff Affairs and Trade      David Beck
        Agreements
Director, Office of Unfair Import Investigations  Lynn Levine
General Counsel                                   James M. Lyons
Inspector General                                 Judith Gwynn, Acting
Secretary                                         Marilyn R. Abbott

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The United States International Trade Commission furnishes studies, 
reports, and recommendations involving international trade and tariffs 
to the President, the U.S. Trade Representative, and congressional 
committees. The Commission also conducts a variety of investigations 
pertaining to international trade relief.

The United States International Trade Commission is an independent 
agency created by the Revenue Act (39 Stat. 795) and originally named 
the United States Tariff Commission. The name was changed to the United 
States International Trade Commission by section 171 of the Trade Act of 
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2231).
    Six Commissioners are appointed by the President with the advice and 
consent of the Senate for 9-year terms, unless appointed to fill an 
unexpired term. The Chairman and Vice Chairman are designated by the 
President for 2-year terms, and succeeding Chairmen may not be of the 
same political party. The Chairman generally is responsible for the 
administration of the Commission. Not more than three Commissioners may 
be members of the same political party (19 U.S.C. 1330).

Activities

The Commission performs a number of functions pursuant to the statutes 
referred to above. Under the Tariff Act of 1930, the Commission is given 
broad powers of investigation relating to the customs laws of the United 
States and foreign countries; the volume of importation in comparison 
with domestic production and consumption; the conditions, causes, and 
effects relating to competition of foreign industries with those of the 
United States; and all other factors affecting competition between 
articles of the United States and imported articles. The Commission is 


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required, whenever requested, to make available to the President, the 
House Committee on Ways and Means, and the Senate Committee on Finance 
all information at its command, and is directed to make such 
investigations and reports as may be requested by the President, said 
committees, or Congress.
    In order to carry out these responsibilities, the Commission is 
required to engage in extensive research, conduct specialized studies, 
and maintain a high degree of expertise in all matters relating to the 
commercial and international trade policies of the United States.
Imported Articles Subsidized or Sold at Less Than Fair Value  The 
Commission conducts preliminary-phase investigations to determine 
whether imports of foreign merchandise allegedly being subsidized or 
sold at less than fair value injure or threaten to injure an industry in 
the United States. If the Commission's determination is affirmative, and 
the Secretary of Commerce determines there is reason to believe or 
suspect such unfair practices are occurring, then the Commission 
conducts final-phase investigations to determine the injury or threat of 
injury to an industry because of such imports.
    Under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, the Commission also conducts 
sunset reviews. In these reviews, the Commission evaluates whether 
material injury to a U.S. industry would continue or recur if the 
antidumping duty or countervailing duty order under review was revoked. 
Such injury reviews must be conducted on all antidumping duty and 
countervailing duty orders every 5 years as long as the orders remain in 
effect.
Unfair Practices in Import Trade  The Commission applies U.S. statutory 
and common law of unfair competition to the importation of products into 
the United States and their sale. If the Commission determines that 
there is a violation of law, it is to direct that the articles involved 
be excluded from entry into the United States, or it may issue cease-and-
desist orders directing the person engaged in such violation to 
cease and desist from engaging in such unfair methods or acts.
Trade Negotiations  The Commission advises the President as to the 
probable economic effect on the domestic industry and consumers of 
modification of duties and other barriers to trade that may be 
considered for inclusion in any proposed trade agreement with foreign 
countries.
Generalized System of Preferences  The Commission advises the President 
with respect to every article that may be considered for preferential 
removal of the duty on imports from designated developing countries as 
to the probable economic effect the preferential removal of duty will 
have on the domestic industry and on consumers.
Industry Adjustment to Import Competition (Global Safeguard Actions)  
The Commission conducts investigations upon petition on behalf of an 
industry, a firm, a group of workers, or other entity representative of 
an industry to determine whether an article is being imported in such 
increased quantities as to injure or threaten to injure the domestic 
industry producing an article like or directly competitive with the 
imported article. If the Commission's finding is affirmative, it 
recommends to the President the action that would address such a threat 
and be most effective in facilitating positive adjustment by the 
industry to import competition. The President determines if import 
relief is appropriate.
    The Commission reports with respect to developments within an 
industry that has been granted import relief and advises the President 
of the probable economic effect of the reduction or elimination of the 
tariff increase that has been granted. The President may continue, 
modify, or terminate the import relief previously granted.
Imports From NAFTA Countries (Bilateral Safeguard Actions)  The 
Commission conducts investigations to determine whether, as a result of 
the reduction or elimination of a duty provided for under the North 
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a Canadian article or a Mexican 
article, as

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the case may be, is being imported into the United States in such 
increased quantities and under such conditions so that imports of the 
article constitute a substantial cause of serious injury or (except in 
the case of a Canadian article) a threat of serious injury to the 
domestic industry producing an article that is like or directly 
competitive with the imported article. If the Commission's determination 
is in the affirmative, the Commission recommends to the President the 
relief which is necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury. 
Commission investigations under these provisions are similar 
procedurally to those conducted under the global safeguard action 
provisions.
Imports from China (Bilateral Safeguard Actions)  The Commission 
conducts investigations to determine whether products from China are 
being imported into the United States in such increased quantities or 
under such conditions as to cause or threaten to cause market disruption 
to the domestic producers of like or directly competitive products. If 
the Commission makes an affirmative determination, it proposes a remedy. 
The Commission sends its reports to the President and the U.S. Trade 
Representative. The President makes the final remedy decision.
Market Disruption From Communist Countries  The Commission conducts 
investigations to determine whether increased imports of an article 
produced in a Communist country are causing market disruption in the 
United States. If the Commission's determination is in the affirmative, 
the President may take the same action as in the case of serious injury 
to an industry, except that the action would apply only to imports of 
the article from the Communist country. Commission investigations 
conducted under this provision are similar procedurally to those 
conducted under the global safeguard action provisions.
Import Interference With Agricultural Programs  The Commission conducts 
investigations, at the direction of the President, to determine whether 
any articles are being or are practically certain to be imported into 
the United States under such conditions and in such quantities as to 
render or tend to render ineffective or to materially interfere with 
programs of the Department of Agriculture for agricultural commodities 
or products thereof, or to substantially reduce the amount of any 
product processed in the United States from such commodities or 
products, and makes findings and recommendations. The President may 
restrict the imports in question by imposition of either import fees or 
quotas. Such fees or quotas may be applied only against countries that 
are not members of the World Trade Organization.
Uniform Statistical Data  The Commission, in cooperation with the 
Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce, establishes for 
statistical purposes an enumeration of articles imported into the United 
States and exported from the United States, and seeks to establish 
comparability of such statistics with statistical programs for domestic 
production.
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, Annotated  The 
Commission issues a publication containing the U.S. tariff schedules and 
related matters and considers questions concerning the arrangement of 
such schedules and the classification of articles.
International Trade Studies  The Commission conducts studies, 
investigations, and research projects on a broad range of topics 
relating to international trade, pursuant to requests of the President, 
the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, either 
branch of the Congress, or on its own motion. Public reports of these 
studies, investigations, and research projects are issued in most cases.
    The Commission also keeps informed of the operation and effect of 
provisions relating to duties or other import restrictions of the United 
States contained in various trade agreements. Occasionally the 
Commission is required by statute to perform specific trade-related 
studies.

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Industry and Trade Summaries  The Commission prepares and publishes a 
series of summaries of trade and tariff information. These summaries 
contain descriptions (in terms of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States) of the thousands of products imported into the United 
States, methods of production, and the extent and relative importance of 
U.S. consumption, production, and trade, together with certain basic 
factors affecting the competitive position and economic health of 
domestic industries.

Sources of Information

Inquiries should be directed to the specific organizational unit or to 
the Secretary, United States International Trade Commission, 500 E 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20436. Phone, 202-205-2000.
Contracts  The Procurement Executive has responsibility for contract 
matters. Phone, 202-205-2745.
Electronic Access  Commission publications, news releases, Federal 
Register notices, scheduling information, the Commission's interactive 
Trade and Tariff DataWeb, and general information about ITC are 
available for electronic access. Investigation-related public inspection 
files are available through the Electronic Document Imaging System 
(EDIS). Internet, www.usitc.gov.
Employment  Information on employment can be obtained from the Director, 
Office of Human Resources. The Agency employs international economists, 
attorneys, accountants, commodity and industry specialists and analysts, 
and clerical and other support personnel. Phone, 202-205-2651.
Publications  The Commission publishes results of investigations 
concerning various commodities and subjects. Other publications include 
Industry and Trade Summaries, an annual report to the Congress on the 
operation of the trade agreements program, and an annual review of 
Commission activities. Specific information regarding these publications 
can be obtained from the Office of the Secretary.

Reading Rooms  Reading rooms are open to the public in the Office of the 
Secretary and the ITC Main Library. The ITC Law Library is available to 
individuals who make prior arrangements by calling 202-205-3287.

For further information, contact the Secretary, United States 
International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20436. 
Phone, 202-205-2000. Internet, www.usitc.gov.

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