Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 2 / Friday, January 3, 2025 / Rules and Regulations 225 

TABLE 1 TO § 194.306—Continued 

Regulation Applicability Additional requirements or clarification 

(www) Section 135.619 of this 

chapter.

Applies to powered-lift operators with 10 or more powered-lift, 

helicopters, or any combination thereof, assigned to the certificate holder’s operations specifications for air ambulance 

operations.

(xxx) Section 135.621 of this 

chapter.

Applies to powered-lift conducting operations in accordance with 

subpart L to part 135 of this chapter.

Issued under authority provided by 49 

U.S.C. 106(f), 44701(a), and 44703 in 

Washington, DC. 

Brandon Roberts, 

Executive Director, Office of Rulemaking. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30331 Filed 1–2–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 

COMMISSION 

19 CFR Parts 201, 206, 207, and 210 

Practice and Procedure: Rules of 

General Application, Safeguards, 

Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 

Investigations, and Section 337 

Adjudication and Enforcement 

AGENCY: International Trade 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The United States 

International Trade Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) amends its Rules of 

Practice and Procedure concerning rules 

of general application, safeguards, 

antidumping and countervailing duty 

investigations, and section 337 

adjudication and enforcement. The 

amendments are necessary to make 

certain technical corrections, to clarify 

certain provisions, to harmonize 

different parts of the Commission’s 

rules, and to address concerns that have 

arisen in Commission practice. The 

intended effect of the proposed 

amendments is to facilitate compliance 

with the Commission’s Rules and 

improve the administration of agency 

proceedings. 

DATES: Effective February 3, 2025. The 

rule amendments as stated herein shall 

apply to investigations and proceedings 

instituted subsequent to the 

aforementioned date. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cathy Chen, Office of the General 

Counsel, U.S. International Trade 

Commission, 500 E Street SW, 

Washington, DC 20436, telephone (202) 

205–2392. Hearing-impaired individuals 

are advised that information on this 

matter can be obtained by contacting the 

Commission’s TDD terminal at 202– 

205–1810. General information 

concerning the Commission may also be 

obtained by accessing its internet server 

at https://www.usitc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Section 335 of the Tariff Act of 1930 

(19 U.S.C. 1335) authorizes the 

Commission to adopt such reasonable 

procedures, rules, and regulations as it 

deems necessary to carry out its 

functions and duties. This rulemaking 

seeks to improve provisions of the 

Commission’s existing Rules of Practice 

and Procedure, including increasing the 

efficiency of its proceedings and 

reducing the burdens and costs on the 

parties and the agency. The Commission 

proposed amendments to its rules 

governing proceedings conducted under 

section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 

U.S.C. 1337), as well as Title VII of the 

Tariff Act of 1930, which comprises 19 

U.S.C. 1671–1677n, sections 201–202, 

204, and 406 of the Trade Act of 1974 

(19 U.S.C. 2251–2252, 2254, and 2436), 

and sections 301–302 of the United 

States-Mexico-Canada Implementation 

Act (19 U.S.C. 4551–4552). 

This rulemaking was undertaken to 

make certain technical corrections, to 

clarify certain provisions, to harmonize 

different parts of the Commission’s 

rules, and to address concerns that have 

arisen in Commission practice. The 

intended effect of the amendments is to 

facilitate compliance with the 

Commission’s Rules and improve the 

administration of agency proceedings. 

The Commission is concurrently 

considering additional amendments to 

its rules to be reflected in future Notices 

of Proposed Rulemaking. 

The current rulemaking is consistent 

with the Commission’s plan to ensure 

that the Commission’s rules are 

effective, as detailed in the 

Commission’s Plan for Retrospective 

Analysis of Existing Rules, published 

February 14, 2012, and found at 77 FR 

8114. This plan was issued in response 

to Executive Order 13579 of July 11, 

2011, and established a process under 

which the Commission will periodically 

review its significant regulations to 

determine whether any such regulations 

should be modified, streamlined, 

expanded, or repealed so as to make the 

agency’s regulatory program more 

effective or less burdensome in 

achieving regulatory objectives. This 

process includes a general review of 

existing regulations in 19 CFR parts 201, 

206, 207, and 210. 

Although the Commission considers 

these rules to be procedural rules which 

are excepted from notice-and-comment 

under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(A), the 

Commission invited the public to 

comment on all the proposed rules 

amendments consistent with its 

ordinary practice. This practice entails 

the following steps: (1) publication of a 

notice of proposed rulemaking 

(‘‘NPRM’’); (2) solicitation of public 

comments on the proposed 

amendments; (3) Commission review of 

public comments on the proposed 

amendments; and (4) publication of 

final amendments at least thirty (30) 

days prior to their effective date. The 

Commission published a NPRM in the 

Federal Register at 89 FR 22012–39 

(Mar. 28, 2024), proposing to amend the 

Commission’s Rules of Practice and 

Procedure concerning rules of general 

application, safeguards, antidumping 

and countervailing duty investigations, 

and section 337 adjudication and 

enforcement. 

The NPRM requested public comment 

on the proposed rules within sixty (60) 

days of publication of the NPRM, i.e., by 

May 20, 2024. The Commission received 

four sets of comments from 

organizations or law firms, including 

one each from the ITC Trial Lawyers 

Association (‘‘ITCTLA’’); the Customs 

and International Bar Association 

(‘‘CITBA’’); the ITC Modernization 

Alliance (‘‘IMA’’); and the law firm of 

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C 

(‘‘Sterne Kessler’’). The IMA is a 

coalition of companies in the 

technology, telecom, and automotive 

industries that have participated in 

section 337 investigations, including 

Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Google, HP, 

Intel, Microsoft, and Samsung, among 

others. 

The Commission has carefully 

considered all comments that it 

received. The Commission’s response is 

provided below in a section-by-section 

analysis. The Commission appreciates 


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the time and effort of the commentators 

in preparing their submissions. 

Regulatory Analysis of Proposed 

Amendments to the Commission’s Rules 

The Commission has determined that 

these rules do not meet the criteria 

described in section 3(f) of Executive 

Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, Oct. 4, 1993) 

and thus do not constitute a significant 

regulatory action for purposes of the 

Executive Order. 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is inapplicable to this 

rulemaking because it is not one for 

which a notice of proposed rulemaking 

is required under 5 U.S.C. 553(b) or any 

other statute. Although the Commission 

chose to publish a notice of proposed 

rulemaking, these regulations are 

‘‘agency rules of procedure and 

practice,’’ and thus are exempt from the 

notice requirement imposed by 5 U.S.C. 

553(b). 

These rules do not contain federalism 

implications warranting the preparation 

of a federalism summary impact 

statement pursuant to Executive Order 

13132 (64 FR 43255, Aug. 4, 1999). 

No actions are necessary under the 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

(2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) because the rules 

will not result in expenditure in the 

aggregate by State, local, and Tribal 

governments, or by the private sector, of 

$100,000,000 or more in any one year, 

and will not significantly or uniquely 

affect small governments, as defined in 

5 U.S.C. 601(5). 

The rules are not major rules as 

defined by section 804 of the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 801 et 

seq.). Moreover, they are exempt from 

the reporting requirements of the 

Contract With America Advancement 

Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104–121) because 

they concern rules of agency 

organization, procedure, or practice that 

do not substantially affect the rights or 

obligations of non-agency parties. 

The amendments are not subject to 

section 3504(h) of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3504(h)). 

Overview of the Amendments to the 

Regulations 

Many of the final rules set forth in 

this notice are identical to the 

correspondingly numbered proposed 

rules published in the NPRM on March 

28, 2024. 89 FR 22012–39 (Mar. 28, 

2024). For many of the proposed rules, 

only positive comments were received 

or no comment was received. 

Specifically, the commentators 

generally support replacing genderspecific language with gender-neutral 

language in the rules. These rules are: 

§§ 201.3a, 201.8, 201.15, 201.20, 201.32, 

207.10, 207.15, 210.4, 210.12, 210.14, 

210.15, 210.20, 210.25, 210.28, 210.31, 

210.32, 210.34, 210.37, 210.49, 210.65, 

and 210.67. The commentators also 

generally support the elimination of 

paper copies and the permanent 

implementation of e-filing requirements. 

These rules are: §§ 201.8, 201.12, 

201.14, 206.2, 206.8, 207.10, 207.15, 

207.23, 207.25, 207.28, 207.30, 207.61, 

207.62, 207.65, 207.67, 207.68, 210.4, 

210.8, 210.14, and 210.75. The 

Commission has therefore determined to 

adopt the proposed gender-neutral 

language and e-filing requirements in 

the rules as stated in the NPRM. The 

Commission finds no reason to change 

those proposed rules on its own (except 

for certain technical, non-substantive 

changes) before adopting them as final 

rules. Thus, the preamble to those 

unchanged proposed rules is as set forth 

in the section-by-section analysis of the 

proposed rules found in the NPRM 89 

FR at 22012–39. 

The section-by-section analysis below 

includes a discussion of all 

modifications suggested by the 

commentators. As a result of some of the 

comments, the Commission has 

determined to modify one (1) of the 

proposed amendments from the 

proposals in the NPRM. Regarding the 

provisions of § 210.12 that govern the 

content, sufficiency, and submission of 

a complaint alleging a violation of 

section 337, the Commission has 

determined to remove the language ‘‘of 

each element’’ from paragraph (a)(8)(i) 

to address the ITCTLA’s concern that 

different jurisdictions may apply 

different legal standards for unfair acts 

alleged under section 337(a)(1)(A). The 

Commission agrees with the ITCTLA 

that section 337(a)(1)(A) broadly 

prohibits ‘‘[u]nfair methods of 

competition and unfair acts,’’ and thus 

the proposed amendments to paragraph 

(a)(8)(i) should be applied in a manner 

that balances the Commission’s goals of 

making clear that bare assertions of 

unfair acts or methods of competition 

are insufficient with the need to allege 

sufficient information to enable the 

Commission to determine whether a 

cause of action exists. The Commission 

has also determined to make four (4) 

additional changes for consistency or to 

address its recent precedent. Regarding 

the provisions of § 207.10 governing 

filing of petitions with the Commission, 

the Commission has determined to 

substitute the language ‘‘he or she’’ from 

paragraph (b)(1)(i) with ‘‘the Secretary.’’ 

Regarding the provisions of § 210.14 

governing consolidation of 

investigations, the Commission has 

determined to substitute the language 

‘‘he or she’’ from paragraph (g) with 

‘‘the administrative law judge.’’ The 

Commission has also determined to 

substitute the language ‘‘its standing to’’ 

in § 210.12 (g)(9)(iv) and (g)(10)(ii) to 

‘‘establish that it can bring pursuant to 

§ 210.12(a)(7).’’ The Commission has 

recently clarified that § 210.12(a)(7) 

informs who may bring a complaint. 

The analysis below refers to the rules 

as they appeared in the NPRM. The 

commentary in the NPRM published on 

March 28, 2024, is considered part of 

the preamble to the final rules to the 

extent that such commentary is not 

inconsistent with the discussion below. 

See 89 FR at 22012–39. 

Section-by-Section Analysis 

Part 201—Rules of General Application 

Subpart B—Initiation and Conduct of 

Investigations 

Section 201.15 

Section 201.15 provides general 

provisions for attorneys and others 

practicing and appearing before the 

Commission. The Commission proposed 

in the NPRM to revise paragraph (a) to 

indicate that no separate application for 

admission to practice before the 

Commission is required. It also 

proposed revising the paragraph to 

provide that attorneys practicing or 

desiring to practice before the 

Commission must maintain a bar 

membership in good standing in any 

State of the United States or the District 

of Columbia and must report any change 

in status including, but not limited to, 

disbarment or suspension by any bar 

association, court, or agency. The 

Commission welcomed comments on 

whether these requirements should be 

mandatory or permissive and how the 

Commission should use this 

information. The Commission further 

proposed that non-attorneys desiring to 

appear before the Commission may be 

required to show that they are 

acceptable in the capacity in which they 

seek to appear. 

The Commission also proposed to 

revise paragraph (b) to clarify that the 

restrictions on a former officer or 

employee of the Commission from 

practicing or appearing before the 

Commission in connection with a 

matter which was pending in any 

manner or form in the Commission 

during that person’s employment 

applies to both former attorney and nonattorney employees of the Commission. 

Additionally, for the reasons noted 

above regarding gender neutral language 

amendments, under § 201.3a(c), the 

Commission proposed to change certain 


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gender-specific language in § 201.15(a) 

and (b) to remove several references to 

‘‘he,’’ ‘‘him,’’ and ‘‘his.’’ No substantive 

changes are intended. 

Comments 

The CITBA supports requiring all 

attorneys appearing before the 

Commission to maintain good standing 

and active bar membership in at least 

one U.S. state or the District of 

Columbia. It also supports mandatory 

reporting of any change in that status by 

the attorney to the Commission and by 

the Commission to such bars, including 

but not limited to disbarment or 

suspension by any bar association, 

court, or agency. The CITBA submits 

that ‘‘the Commission has a need to 

know and an obligation to report such 

information to authorities in a position 

to take appropriate actions beyond 

restricting the attorneys’ appearance in 

Commission proceedings.’’ 

As discussed above in the Overview 

of the Amendments to the Regulations, 

the commentators generally support 

these changes as well as replacing 

gender-specific language with genderneutral language in the rules. 

Commission Response 

No commentator opposes the 

proposed changes to § 201.15. The 

Commission has therefore determined to 

adopt the proposed rule as stated in the 

NPRM. The Commission does not 

include in the rule a requirement that 

the Commission report the status or any 

change in status of an attorney to any 

bar association, court, or agency, though 

retains the discretion to do so in 

appropriate circumstances. It is not 

clear that CITBA is advocating for such 

a rule and in any event has not stated 

the basis for its assertion that the 

Commission has an obligation to report 

such information nor is the Commission 

aware of such an obligation. 

Part 207—Investigations of Whether 

Injury to Domestic Industries Results 

From Imports Sold at Less Than Fair 

Value or From Subsidized Exports to 

the United States 

Subpart B—Preliminary Determinations 

Section 207.15 

Section 207.15 provides for written 

briefs and a conference in preliminary 

phase antidumping and countervailing 

duty investigations. Consistent with the 

proposed amendments to § 201.8, the 

Commission proposed to eliminate the 

requirement for submission of paper 

copies of briefs. The Commission 

proposed to only require submission of 

paper copies of written witness 

testimony when it is provided on the 

day of the conference, but not when it 

is filed electronically prior to the date 

of the conference. For the reasons noted 

in its explanation for the proposed 

change under § 201.3a(c), the 

Commission proposed to change certain 

gender-specific language to remove a 

reference to ‘‘he.’’ The Commission also 

proposed to remove language related to 

electronic filing since that requirement 

is in § 201.8 and to replace the term 

‘‘Director’’ with ‘‘presiding official’’ for 

consistency. 

Comments 

CITBA comments that permitting 

parties to either file witness testimony 

electronically the day before a 

conference or submit paper copies of 

written witness testimony the day of the 

conference would create a perverse 

incentive for parties to only submit 

paper copies the day of the conference, 

to avoid revealing their testimony to 

opposing parties prior to the conference. 

CITBA urges the Commission to adopt 

a requirement that written witness 

testimony must be filed by a deadline of 

4 p.m. the day before a conference for 

the submission. 

Commission Response 

The proposed amendments to 

§ 207.15 would give parties, who desire 

to submit written testimony, the option 

of submitting their written witness 

testimony electronically either before 

the date of the conference, 

unaccompanied by paper copies, or on 

the day of the conference, but with the 

added requirement that nine (9) paper 

copies of the witness testimony also be 

filed. This is a change from the current 

rule which allows for the submission of 

written testimony but only through the 

provision of paper copies the day of the 

conference. The purpose of this change 

is to provide parties greater flexibility 

and eliminate the requirement for paper 

copies for those parties who wish to 

submit written testimony but find 

providing paper copies burdensome. 

The proposed amendments to § 207.15, 

however, would not alter the current 

rule that a party may provide written 

witness testimony in connection with 

its presentation at the conference but is 

not required to do so. The Commission 

recognizes that some witnesses may 

choose to submit paper copies the day 

of the conference, or not to file written 

testimony at all, to avoid revealing their 

testimony in advance. The Commission, 

however, encourages parties where 

possible to file witness testimony 

electronically no later than the day 

before the conference. Filing witness 

testimony before the conference is 

helpful to Commission staff, because 

having an advanced opportunity to 

review the testimony facilitates staff’s 

understanding of the issues to be 

addressed during the conference. 

Written witness testimony is also 

helpful to Commission staff as they may 

follow along as testimony is presented 

and note areas for questions. The 

Commission, however, has chosen not 

to impose a requirement that witness 

testimony be filed the day before the 

conference and instead to adopt a rule 

that provides flexibility for parties to 

choose to file testimony either 

electronically no later than the day 

before the conference, or the same day 

with paper copies. 

Subpart C—Final Determinations, Short 

Life Cycle Products 

Section 207.24 

Section 207.24 provides procedures 

for hearings. The Commission proposed 

to only require submission of paper 

copies of written witness testimony 

when it is provided on the day of the 

hearing, but not when it is filed 

electronically prior to the date of the 

hearing. The Commission proposed to 

delete the reference to § 201.13(f), 

consistent with the clarifications 

proposed for that section. 

Comments 

CITBA comments that permitting 

parties to either file witness testimony 

electronically the day before a hearing 

or submit paper copies of written 

witness testimony the day of the hearing 

would create a perverse incentive for 

parties to only submit paper copies the 

day of the hearing, to avoid revealing 

their testimony to opposing parties prior 

to the conference. CITBA urges the 

Commission to adopt a requirement that 

written witness testimony must be filed 

by a deadline of 4 p.m. the day before 

a hearing for the submission of all 

witness testimony. 

Commission Response 

The proposed amendments to 

§ 207.24 would give parties the option 

of submitting written witness testimony 

electronically either before the date of 

the hearing, unaccompanied by paper 

copies, or on the day of the hearing, but 

with the added requirement that nine 

paper copies of the witness testimony 

also be filed. This is a change from the 

current rule which allows for the 

submission of written testimony but 

only through the provision of paper 

copies the day of the hearing. The 

purpose of this change is to provide 

parties greater flexibility and eliminate 

the requirement for paper copies for 

those parties who wish to submit 


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written testimony but find providing 

paper copies burdensome. The proposed 

amendments, however, would not alter 

the current rule that a party may 

provide written witness testimony in 

connection with its presentation at the 

hearing but is not required to do so. The 

Commission recognizes that some 

witnesses may choose to submit paper 

copies the day of the hearing, or not to 

file written testimony at all, to avoid 

revealing their testimony in advance. 

The Commission, however, encourages 

parties where possible to file witness 

testimony electronically no later than 

the day before the hearing. Filing 

witness testimony before the hearing is 

helpful to Commissioners and staff, 

because having an advanced 

opportunity to review the testimony 

facilitates Commissioners’ and staff’s 

understanding of the issues to be 

addressed during the hearing. Witness 

testimony is also helpful to 

Commissioners and staff as they may 

follow along as testimony is presented 

and note areas for questions. The 

Commission, however, has chosen not 

to impose a requirement that witness 

testimony be filed the day before the 

hearing and instead to adopt a rule that 

provides flexibility for parties to choose 

to file testimony either electronically no 

later than the day before the hearing, or 

the same day with paper copies. 

Subchapter C—Investigations of Unfair 

Practices in Import Trade (Section 337) 

Part 210—Adjudication and 

Enforcement 

Subpart B—Commencement of 

Preinstitution Proceedings and 

Investigations 

Section 210.10 

Section 210.10 provides the general 

provisions for institution of an 

investigation. The Commission 

proposed in the NPRM to amend 

paragraph (a)(1) of this section to add 

that the Commission will not institute 

an investigation within thirty (30) days 

after the complaint is filed if the 

Commission determines that the 

complaint or any exhibits or 

attachments thereto contain excessive 

designations of confidentiality that are 

not warranted under §§ 201.6(a) and 

210.5 of this chapter. Proposed 

paragraph (a)(7) explains that, under 

such circumstances, the Commission 

may require the complainant to file new 

nonconfidential versions of the 

aforesaid submissions in accordance 

with § 210.8 and may determine that the 

thirty (30)-day period for deciding 

whether to institute an investigation 

shall begin to run anew from the date 

that the new nonconfidential versions 

are filed with the Commission. This is 

consistent with existing § 210.55(b) of 

this chapter, which contains similar 

provisions pertaining to complaints 

accompanied by a motion for temporary 

relief, and was also proposed to be 

added to § 210.75, which concerns 

enforcement complaints. 

Comments 

The ITCTLA supports the proposed 

amendments to § 210.10 and recognizes 

that the proposed amendments ‘‘put[ ] 

stakeholders on notice of a specific 

mechanism the Commission may 

employ to curtail CBI designation 

abuses.’’ The ITCTLA noted that, 

although the term ‘‘excessive’’ is not 

‘‘clearly defined,’’ it recognizes that the 

suggested language ‘‘is consistent with 

long-standing rules and practice and can 

be interpreted in that context.’’ The 

ITCTLA thus views the proposed 

changes as ‘‘codifying existing 

Commission practices targeting 

excessive redactions and causing few, if 

any, delays to institution of a 

complaint.’’ 

Sterne Kessler proposes including an 

explicit statement that any decision to 

not institute will occur only ‘‘after 

appropriate notice to correct the 

excessive designations’’ has been 

provided to complainant. 

The ITCTLA and Sterne Kessler offer 

the same comments regarding 

confidentiality designations in § 210.75. 

Commission Response 

The Commission agrees with the 

ITCTLA that the proposed amendments 

to §§ 210.10 and 210.75 implement 

existing Commission practice regarding 

excessive designations of confidentiality 

as set forth under §§ 201.6(a) and 210.5 

of this chapter. The Commission 

considers Sterne Kessler’s concern to be 

adequately addressed by the proposed 

addition of paragraph (a)(7) in § 210.10, 

which provides that the Commission 

may require the complainant to file new 

nonconfidential versions of the 

submissions determined to contain 

excessive designations of confidentiality 

in accordance with § 210.8, and that the 

thirty (30)-day period for the 

Commission to decide whether to 

institute an investigation may begin to 

run anew from the date that the new 

nonconfidential versions are filed with 

the Commission. As the ITCTLA 

recognizes, a complainant can seek 

guidance from the Office of Unfair 

Import Investigations during the prefiling period regarding redactions to a 

complaint or any exhibits or 

attachments thereto. The Commission 

has therefore determined to adopt the 

proposed rules for §§ 210.10 and 210.75 

as stated in the NPRM. 

Subpart C—Pleadings 

Section 210.12 

Section 210.12 contains the 

provisions governing the content, 

sufficiency, and submission of a 

complaint alleging a violation of section 

337. The Commission proposed in the 

NPRM to make several amendments to 

the existing rule. Specifically: 

For the reasons discussed in the 

NPRM in connection with § 201.8, the 

Commission proposed to replace 

‘‘agent’’ in paragraph (a)(1) with 

‘‘corporate representative’’ and to 

amend certain gender-specific language 

in paragraphs (a)(1) and (j). The 

Commission proposed in the NPRM to 

amend § 210.12(a)(1) to require a 

complaint to include email addresses 

for the complainant and its duly 

authorized officer, attorney, or corporate 

representative who has signed the 

complaint. The proposed amendment to 

§ 210.12(a)(3) removes reference to the 

Tariff Schedules of the United States 

that applied prior to January 1, 1989. 

The proposed amendment to 

§ 210.12(a)(5) expands the required 

disclosure to include information about 

arbitrations concerning the alleged 

unfair methods of competition and 

unfair acts, or the subject matter thereof. 

The Commission proposed in the 

NPRM to amend § 210.12(a)(6)(i) by 

reorganizing the rule to more clearly 

distinguish between the information 

required to support a complaint based 

on an alleged domestic industry that 

exists and the information required to 

support a complaint based on an alleged 

domestic industry in the process of 

being established for complaints that 

allege a violation based on infringement 

of a U.S. patent, or a federally registered 

copyright, trademark, mask work, or 

vessel hull design. The Commission also 

proposed correcting typographical 

errors in spacing and punctuation in 

paragraphs 210.12(a)(6)(ii) and 

210.12(a)(6)(iii). 

The Commission proposed amending 

§ 210.12(a)(7) by removing an 

extraneous ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

paragraph (a)(7). 

The Commission proposed amending 

§ 210.12(a)(8)(i) and (ii) to clarify that, 

for complaints based on an unfair act or 

method of competition under section 

337(a)(1)(A), the complaint’s statement 

of facts should include factual 

allegations that would show the 

existence of each element of the cause 

of action underlying the unfair act or 

method of competition. The purpose of 

these amendments would be to make 


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clear that bare assertions of unfair acts 

or methods of competition without 

factual allegations supporting all 

elements of a cognizable legal theory do 

not meet the requirements of 

§ 210.12(a)(2). For example, a complaint 

based on trade secret misappropriation 

would have to include factual 

allegations sufficient to establish every 

element of a trade secret 

misappropriation claim. The 

Commission also proposed correcting 

the terminal punctuation for 

§ 210.12(a)(8)(ii) and requires that the 

complaint state the elements of the 

proposed legal theory. 

The Commission proposed amending 

§ 210.12(a)(9)(v) by adding a 

requirement to disclose known domestic 

patent applications that correspond to 

the patents asserted in the investigation 

in addition to the existing required 

disclosure of foreign patent 

applications. The Commission 

expressed interest in comments from the 

public regarding the burden this 

amendment would place on 

complainants. 

The Commission proposed correcting 

the terminal punctuation for 

§ 210.12(a)(9)(xi) and adds an ‘‘and’’ at 

the end of § 210.12(a)(10)(i) for 

grammatical purposes. 

The Commission proposed amending 

§ 210.12(a)(11) by adding a requirement 

that a complaint seeking a general 

exclusion order must plead factual 

allegations sufficient to show that such 

an order is available under the 

requirements of section 337(d)(2). The 

Commission noted that this information 

has been voluntarily included in various 

complaints filed under the current rules. 

This proposed amendment would 

formalize the requirement to include 

such information in complaints going 

forward. The Commission believes this 

amendment will lead to greater 

efficiency in investigations where 

general exclusion orders are requested. 

The proposed rule also adds an ‘‘and’’ 

at the end of § 210.12(a)(11)(ii) for 

grammatical purposes. 

The Commission proposed amending 

§ 210.12(b) to change the word ‘‘all’’ to 

‘‘exemplary,’’ as the Commission 

recognizes that it might not be feasible 

to submit physical samples of all 

imported articles. 

The Commission proposed amending 

paragraphs 210.12(c)–(h) to remove the 

reference to the ‘‘original’’ complaint 

because the rules propose to remove 

paper filings. The Commission proposed 

amending § 210.12(c)(2) by eliminating 

the requirement that the complaint be 

accompanied by the applicable pages of 

each technical reference mentioned in 

the prosecution history of each involved 

U.S. patent. The Commission believes 

that this requirement is no longer 

necessary given the availability of such 

materials online. The Commission also 

proposed amending § 210.12(c) by 

removing the requirement in 

subparagraph (2) for four (4) copies of 

the patent, because it is duplicative of 

§ 210.12(a)(9)(i), and by adding new 

subparagraph (2) requiring one copy of 

each prosecution history of any priority 

applications for the asserted patents to 

accompany a patent-based complaint. 

Comments 

Regarding the proposed amendments 

to paragraphs 210.12(a)(8)(i) and (ii), the 

ITCTLA is concerned that potentially 

different legal standards among different 

judicial circuits for what constitutes an 

unfair act subject to section 337(a)(1)(A) 

may ‘‘make it difficult for a complainant 

to be certain that it is adequately 

including factual allegations and legal 

theories that would show the existence 

of each element of the cause of action,’’ 

especially where the Commission has 

not previously set out a standard for a 

violation of that cause of action. The 

ITCTLA notes that, unlike patent 

infringement cases, which are reviewed 

by a single appeals court, non-patent 

‘‘unfair acts are reviewed by appellate 

courts throughout the United States 

resulting in standards that can vary 

among circuits.’’ As such, the ITCTLA is 

‘‘concerned that the proposed 

amendment could lead to noninstitution of claims for complaints that 

provide a good faith attempt to 

articulate the factual and legal elements 

of a particular cause of action.’’ It also 

believes ‘‘[t]his uncertainty could [ ] 

discourage parties from bringing new or 

novel causes of action to the 

Commission.’’ Thus, while the ITCTLA 

‘‘supports efforts to require specificity 

in pleading (a)(1)(A) claims,’’ it urges 

the Commission to apply the rule in a 

manner consistent with section 

337(a)(1)(A)’s ‘‘goal of broadly 

permitting parties to allege violations of 

Section 337 for unfair methods of 

competition and unfair acts.’’ 

Sterne Kessler supports adding the 

requirement in paragraph (a)(9)(v) to 

disclose known domestic patent 

applications that correspond to the 

patents asserted in the investigation. It 

believes this requirement is ‘‘especially 

critical for non-public applications filed 

within the eighteen-month publication 

window or for which a non-publication 

request was filed.’’ It notes that ‘‘[a]ny 

such information could be treated as 

Confidential Business Information and 

presumably is available to complainants 

despite the additional burden associated 

with its disclosure.’’ Sterne Kessler also 

proposes amending §§ 210.12(a)(9)(viii) 

and (ix), and 210.13(b)(1), to clarify that 

respondents ‘‘are required to disclose 

non-infringement and invalidity claim 

charts with their Response.’’ 

The IMA notes that, while having no 

specific comments on or issues with the 

proposed amendments to § 210.12, it 

has concerns which are not addressed 

by the proposed amendments. In 

particular, the IMA recommends 

amending §§ 210.12(a)(9) and 210.13(b) 

to add a requirement for parties to 

disclose the existence of third-party 

litigation funding, which it asserts has 

been on the rise according to data it 

presents regarding patent litigation in 

district courts. The IMA believes 

disclosure of whether third-party 

litigation funding is involved in a 

particular case, and the transparency it 

brings, are important to allow the 

Commission to accurately assess 

conflicts, ensure fairness to the parties 

in a dispute, and assess the effect of an 

exclusion order on the public interest. 

Commission Response 

The ITCTLA’s concerns about the 

potentially differing legal standards 

applied by different judicial circuits for 

unfair acts subject to section 

337(a)(1)(A) appear to be limited to 

§ 210.12(a)(8)(i) and do not concern the 

proposed amendments to paragraph 

(a)(8)(ii). The Commission agrees with 

the ITCTLA that section 337(a)(1)(A) 

generally prohibits ‘‘[u]nfair methods of 

competition and unfair acts,’’ and thus 

the proposed amendments to paragraph 

(a)(8)(i) should be applied in a manner 

that addresses the Commission’s goals 

of making clear that bare assertions of 

unfair acts or methods of competition 

are insufficient and the need to allege 

sufficient information to enable the 

Commission to determine whether a 

cause of action is properly pled. Upon 

consideration of the proposed rule, the 

Commission has determined to remove 

the language ‘‘of each element’’ from 

paragraph (a)(8)(i). The Commission 

believes this change addresses the 

ITCTLA’s concerns that different 

jurisdictions may articulate different 

standards for certain causes of action. 

No commentator opposes adding the 

requirement in paragraph (a)(9)(v) to 

disclose known domestic patent 

applications that correspond to the 

patents asserted in the investigation. 

The Commission has therefore 

determined to adopt the remainder of 

proposed rule 210.12 as stated in the 

NPRM. 

The Commission has determined not 

to consider at this time Sterne Kessler’s 

suggestion to require respondents to 

disclose non-infringement and 


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invalidity claim charts with their 

Response because it was not part of the 

NPRM. The Commission notes the 

proposal and may consider it in future 

rulemakings. 

The IMA’s proposal to require parties 

to disclose the existence of third-party 

litigation funding in an investigation 

was not part of the NPRM. The 

Commission notes the proposal and may 

consider it in future rulemakings. 

Section 210.14 

Section 210.14 generally provides for 

amendments to the pleadings and notice 

of investigation. Paragraph (a) provides 

for pre-institution amendments to the 

complaint and notice of investigation, 

while paragraph (b) provides for postinstitution amendments. 

The Commission proposed amending 

the heading of this section to indicate 

the existing severance provision under 

paragraph (h). The Commission further 

proposed to add the requirement that 

amended complaints, exhibits, and 

supplements thereto, filed under this 

section shall be filed electronically with 

the Secretary pursuant to § 210.4. 

The Commission further proposed to 

amend paragraphs (a) and (b)(1) to 

clarify that any proposed amendment to 

the complaint and notice of 

investigation that introduces an 

additional unfair act or an additional 

respondent must comply with the 

content requirements of § 210.12(a). See 

Certain Skin Rejuvenation Resurfacing 

Devices, Components Thereof, and 

Products Containing the Same, Inv. No. 

337–TA–1262, Notice of Commission 

Decision to Review, and on Review, to 

Vacate and Remand an Initial 

Determination Granting Complainants’ 

Motion to Amend the Complaint and 

Notice of Investigation (Sept. 22, 2021). 

For example, an amendment to add a 

cause of action under section 

337(a)(1)(A) to an investigation 

instituted under section 337(a)(1)(B) of 

that Act would be required to contain 

all of the information required in the 

relevant portions of § 210.12(a) of the 

Commission’s Rules. The purpose of the 

amendment is to ensure that the public, 

all affected parties, and/or new 

respondents have adequate notice of the 

scope of any substantive amendment to 

the complaint and notice of 

investigation. 

For § 210.14(b)(1), the requirement is 

also intended to provide the presiding 

administrative law judge and the 

Commission with the information 

needed to determine whether good 

cause exists to allow the proposed 

amendment after institution. This 

section is also amended to make clear 

that the complainant shall serve the 

motion to amend the complaint and 

notice of investigation on any new 

proposed respondent and on all current 

respondents. It also is amended to 

require the Commission to serve the 

amended complaint and notice of 

investigation on any new respondent 

and the embassies of the relevant 

foreign countries after the Commission 

determines to affirm or not review an 

initial determination granting the 

motion. Further, this section is amended 

to require complainants to file service 

copies of the complaint and exhibits, 

including paper service copies of the 

amended complaint, for each new 

respondent and for the embassy of the 

country in which the respondent is 

located by the close of the next business 

day after the amended complaint is 

filed. 

Section 210.14(b)(1) currently lacks 

any indication of whether and when a 

response to an amended complaint and/ 

or notice of investigations is required. 

The absence of such guidance has led to 

inconsistent practice across 

investigations. Accordingly, the 

Commission proposed to amend 

§ 210.14(b)(1) by clarifying that 

responses from respondents currently in 

the investigation are required, and that 

they shall be due within ten (10) days 

of the service of the order (for 

amendments only to the complaint), or 

of the Commission determination 

affirming or not reviewing an initial 

determination (for amendments to the 

complaint and notice of investigation), 

as applicable, that grants a motion to 

amend the complaint and/or notice of 

investigation. The Commission intends 

that any response to an amended 

complaint and/or notice of investigation 

should conform to the same content 

requirements applicable to a response to 

an initial complaint and notice of 

investigation, as provided in § 210.13(b). 

The Commission also proposed 

specifying that if any additional 

respondents are added to the 

investigation, they shall have twenty 

(20) days from the date of service of the 

amended complaint and notice of 

investigation to file a written response. 

Section 210.14(g) currently allows 

two or more investigations to be 

consolidated if: (1) the Commission 

consolidates the investigations; or (2) 

the presiding administrative law judge 

consolidates investigations before that 

judge. There is no mechanism under the 

current rule for investigations before 

different administrative law judges to be 

consolidated absent Commission 

intervention. The proposed amendment 

to § 210.14(g) would address this by 

providing that the Chief Administrative 

Law Judge may consolidate 

investigations that are before different 

presiding administrative law judges and 

assign an administrative law judge to 

preside over the consolidated 

investigations. 

Comments 

Sterne Kessler recommends requiring 

complainants to provide the 

Commission (and, accordingly, all 

parties to the investigation, as well as 

the public) with a redlined copy of any 

amended pleadings, in addition to a 

clean copy of the amended pleadings 

under both paragraphs (a) and (b). 

Commission Response 

The Commission does not adopt 

Sterne Kessler’s recommendation to 

require complainants to provide a 

redlined copy of the amended 

pleadings. Because amended pleadings 

are filed electronically with the 

Secretary, parties can easily generate a 

redlined copy of the amended 

pleadings. 

Subpart E—Discovery and Compulsory 

Process 

Section 210.28 

Section 210.28 concerns the 

procedures governing depositions taken 

during Commission investigations. 

Current § 210.28(a) limits the number of 

fact depositions that each party, 

including the Commission investigative 

attorney, may take in an investigation. 

The Commission is aware that disputes 

have arisen over whether depositions of 

non-party witnesses count towards the 

limits in § 210.28(a). In response to 

those disputes, the Commission 

proposed to amend the rule by adding 

a sentence clarifying that party and nonparty depositions, alike, count toward 

the limits recited in paragraph (a). A 

notice for a corporation to designate 

deponents, however, shall continue to 

count as only one deposition and shall 

include all corporate representatives so 

designated to respond. 

The Commission further proposed to 

change the limit for complainants as a 

group from five (5) fact depositions per 

respondent to a total of twenty (20) fact 

depositions, regardless of the number of 

respondents. This amendment effects a 

simplification of the current rule, which 

permits a complainant group to take the 

greater of either twenty depositions or 

five per respondent. It also provides for 

the same number of fact depositions for 

complainants as a group and 

respondents as a group. The amendment 

does not abrogate the presiding 

administrative law judge’s authority to 

increase the number of fact depositions 

allowed on a showing of good cause by 


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any party. Thus, the Commission does 

not anticipate that the proposed 

amendment will foreclose a 

complainant group from taking 

additional depositions if good cause to 

do so exists. 

While current § 210.28 limits the 

number of depositions that may be 

taken, there is no provision specifying 

the maximum permissible length of a 

deposition. By contrast, Federal Rule of 

Civil Procedure 30 presumptively limits 

depositions to one (1) day of seven (7) 

hours. The Committee Notes to the 2000 

Amendments to Federal Rule of Civil 

Procedure 30(d) explain that the oneday limitation was designed to restrain 

undue cost and delay that can result 

from overlong depositions. Fed. R. Civ. 

P. 30(d) (2000 Advisory Committee 

Note). The Committee Notes explain 

that the rule contemplates reasonable 

breaks throughout the day and that only 

time occupied by the actual deposition 

will be counted. They further explain 

that, for purposes of the durational 

limit, the deposition of each person 

designated in response to a deposition 

noticed under Federal Rule of Civil 

Procedure 30(b)(6) should be considered 

a separate deposition. Id. 

The Commission proposed to amend 

§ 210.28 by adding a new paragraph (b), 

which includes a presumptive 

durational limitation of one (1) day of 

seven (7) hours to depositions 

conducted under that section consistent 

with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30. 

The Commission intends for the 

limitation to control in the absence of an 

agreement among the parties or an order 

of the presiding administrative law 

judge otherwise. The amended rule 

requires the presiding administrative 

law judge to grant additional time as 

needed, to the extent consistent with the 

provisions of paragraphs 210.27(b) 

through 210.27(d), which govern the 

scope of and limitations on discovery, 

respectively. The reference to those 

paragraphs is intended to ensure that 

additional time is only granted in 

proportion to the needs of the 

investigation. The Commission intends 

for the same computational rules to 

apply as are laid out in the Committee 

Notes to the 2000 Amendments to 

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30. 

Specifically, only time actually spent 

conducting the deposition will count 

towards the seven (7) hour limit, and for 

the purpose of the durational limit each 

individual designated in response to a 

deposition notice directed to a party 

will be considered a separate deponent. 

Nothing in this proposed rule should be 

construed to alter the provision in 

paragraph (a) that specifies that each 

notice of deposition to a party is 

counted as a single deposition for 

purposes of calculating the total number 

of depositions that may be taken by a 

party. 

Due to the addition of new paragraph 

(b), the Commission proposed to 

redesignate current paragraphs (b) 

through (i) as paragraphs (c) through (j), 

respectively. 

Current paragraph (f), which in the 

proposed rule would be redesignated as 

paragraph (g), requires the party taking 

a deposition to promptly serve a copy of 

the deposition transcript on the 

Commission investigative attorney. As 

written, current paragraph (f) could be 

read as not requiring service of exhibits 

marked during the deposition. In order 

to remove that ambiguity, the 

Commission proposed amending 

current paragraph (f), redesignated as 

paragraph (g), to make clear that copies 

of the deposition exhibits must be 

included when the transcript is served 

on the Commission investigative 

attorney. 

For the reasons noted above under 

§ 210.4, the Commission also proposed 

to amend certain gender-specific 

language in current paragraphs (c) and 

(h)(4), redesignated as paragraphs (d) 

and (i)(4), respectively, by replacing 

references to ‘‘he’’ and ‘‘him.’’ The 

Commission also proposed to add that 

testimony may be taken by 

‘‘videoconference’’ to current paragraph 

(c) (redesignated as (d)). 

Comments 

The ITCTLA cautions against 

clarifying that party and non-party 

depositions, alike, count toward the 

limits recited in paragraph (a) for two 

reasons. First, it believes including nonparty depositions in the twentydeposition limit under paragraph (a) 

would ‘‘impede the development of a 

fulsome evidentiary record on a number 

of issues, particularly those relating to 

the public interest,’’ but also issues 

relating to domestic industry, patent 

validity, and infringement. For example, 

the ITCTLA explains that disputes over 

validity often require the parties to 

obtain evidence from third parties 

regarding prior art references and 

potential prior public uses. Moreover, it 

explains that non-party discovery may 

be needed to fully understand the 

products accused of infringement and 

the domestic industries of third parties 

upon which a complainant relies, and 

the impact of the public interest 

considerations on non-parties. The 

ITCTLA further believes that applying a 

twenty-deposition limit to complainants 

as a group regardless of the number of 

respondents could impede the ability to 

obtain sufficient evidence against each 

respondent in investigations involving 

more than four respondents. This is a 

particular concern ‘‘in cases involving 

widespread infringement, particularly 

general exclusion order cases.’’ 

Second, the ITCTLA states that 

requiring approval before exceeding the 

deposition limit ‘‘will either add to the 

motion practice before the 

Administrative Law Judges or not be 

effective within the short discovery 

period in ITC proceedings.’’ In 

particular, it explains that the need for 

non-party discovery often is not evident 

until some discovery is completed, or 

initial contentions disclosed, at which 

point there is little time remaining [in] 

the fact discovery period.’’ The ITCTLA 

warns that the proposed rule could 

cause parties to routinely file motions 

for increased depositions at the outset of 

each case. 

Concerning new paragraph (b), the 

ITCTLA recommends exempting 

translated depositions from the 

presumptive seven-hour limit because 

they ‘‘commonly take longer (often 1.5 

to 2 times normal deposition lengths) to 

complete.’’ Sterne Kessler recommends 

increasing the presumptive durational 

limit for depositions to ten (10) hours if, 

for example, an interpreter is required to 

translate the deposition. 

Commission Response 

The Commission declines to adopt the 

ITCTLA’s suggestion to remove the 

twenty-deposition limit under 

paragraph (a) or to exclude non-party 

depositions from that limit. While the 

Commission agrees with the ITCTLA 

that non-party discovery may be 

important to certain issues that arise in 

section 337 investigations, this does not 

provide a basis to distinguish 

depositions of party witnesses from a 

non-party witness for purposes of this 

rule. The Commission notes that Rule 

30(a)(2)(A)(i) of Federal Rule of Civil 

Procedure also does not distinguish 

between party and non-party witness 

depositions. In addition, the proposed 

change to § 210.28(a) allows twice as 

many depositions as Rule 30(a)(2)(A)(i) 

of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure, 

which establishes a limitation of ten 

(10) depositions being taken by a party 

unless leave of court is obtained. As for 

the ITCTLA’s concern that requiring 

approval from the administrative law 

judge before exceeding the twentydeposition limit will ‘‘not be effective 

within the short discovery period in ITC 

proceedings,’’ it is precisely because of 

that short period that a clear limit on the 

number of depositions at the outset of 

an investigation is necessary. Thus, the 

Commission believes that the proposed 

rule provides an adequate number of 


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depositions for most investigations and 

provides the administrative law judge 

with appropriate flexibility in 

increasing the number of depositions as 

appropriate. Therefore, the final rule is 

unchanged from the proposed rule. 

Regarding the ITCTLA’s and Sterne 

Kessler’s concerns about the need for 

additional time if an interpreter is 

required to translate the deposition, the 

Commission declines to exempt 

depositions using an interpreter or 

impose a predetermined durational 

limit of ten (10) hours for translated 

depositions. Rather, the proposed rule 

encourages parties to agree to a 

reasonable length for translated 

depositions. Absent an agreement and 

in keeping with the Federal rules, the 

Commission notes that parties may seek 

additional time for depositions beyond 

the default seven (7) hour limit by order 

of the presiding administrative law 

judge. Indeed, the notes to Federal Rule 

of Civil Procedure 30 indicate the need 

for an interpreter is one circumstance 

justifying an order extending deposition 

time limits. 

Section 210.30 

Section 210.30 is similar to Federal 

Rule of Civil Procedure 34 and provides 

procedures governing requests for 

production or inspection of documents 

and things, as well as entry upon land, 

during discovery. Section 210.30, like 

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34, 

includes provisions permitting a party 

from whom information is requested to 

object to the request. Current § 210.30 

differs from Federal Rule of Civil 

Procedure 34, however, in that it does 

not require an objecting party to state 

whether it is withholding any 

responsive materials on the basis of its 

objection. As explained in the 

Committee Notes to the 2015 

amendments to Federal Rule of Civil 

Procedure 34, which added the 

requirement, the purpose of the 

amendment was to ‘‘end the confusion 

that frequently arises when a producing 

party states several objections and still 

produces information, leaving the 

requesting party uncertain whether any 

relevant and responsive information has 

been withheld on the basis of the 

objections.’’ Fed. R. Civ. P. 34 Advisory 

Committee Notes—2015 Amendment. 

For similar reasons, the Commission 

proposed to amend § 210.30(b)(2) to 

include a requirement that any objection 

to a request to provide information must 

state whether any responsive materials 

are being withheld on the basis of that 

objection and that the party must permit 

inspection of any other materials not 

being withheld. 

For the reasons noted above under 

§ 210.4, the Commission proposed to 

amend certain gender-specific language 

in paragraph (a)(1) by replacing ‘‘his 

behalf’’ with ‘‘that party’s behalf.’’ In 

paragraph (b)(2) of § 210.30, the 

Commission also proposed to change 

‘‘10 days’’ to ‘‘ten (10) days’’ for clarity. 

No substantive change is intended. 

Comments 

The ITCTLA supports aligning 

§ 210.30(b)(2) with the Federal Rule of 

Civil Procedure 34. However, it believes 

the proposed rule ‘‘may appear 

unnecessarily burdensome to the 

producing party without further 

explanation by the Commission.’’ In 

particular, the ITCTLA recommends 

that the Commission include a reference 

to the full Advisory Committee Note on 

FRCP 34(b)(2)(C), which clarifies that: 

The producing party does not need to 

provide a detailed description or log of all 

documents withheld, but does need to alert 

other parties to the fact that documents have 

been withheld and thereby facilitate an 

informed discussion of the objection. An 

objection that states the limits that have 

controlled the search for responsive and 

relevant materials qualifies as a statement 

that the materials have been ‘withheld.’ 

The ITCTLA also recommends that 

the Commission state that federal court 

decisions will be used to guide 

interpretation of the proposed changes 

to § 210.30(b)(2). 

Commission Response 

The Commission proposed amending 

§ 210.30(b)(2) to conform to the 2015 

amendments to FRCP 34(b)(2)(C). 

Accordingly, the Commission agrees 

with the ITCTLA that the proposed rule 

should be interpreted in view of the full 

2015 Committee Notes, including the 

helpful guidance about what the 

producing party’s obligation does and 

does not require in practice, and federal 

court decisions interpreting FRCP 

34(b)(2)(C). As the ITCTLA points out, 

that guidance provides that parties 

would not be required to provide ‘‘an 

‘objection log’—similar to a privilege 

log—that specifically listed all of the 

documents not being produced as a 

result of the objection.’’ Fed. R. Civ. P. 

34 Advisory Committee Notes—2015 

Amendment. Moreover, the Committee 

Notes explain: 

Rather, the rule is satisfied so long as the 

objecting party does something to ‘‘alert the 

other parties to the fact that documents have 

been withheld and thereby facilitate an 

informed discussion of the objection.’’ To 

that end, the 2015 Committee Note provides 

this very sensible solution: ‘‘[a]n objection 

that states the limits that have controlled the 

search for responsive and relevant materials 

qualifies as a statement that the materials 

have been ‘withheld.’’’ For example, if 

document request seeks materials going back 

ten years, and a party thinks that time period 

is too long, a response that objects to the 

length of the time period and states that the 

party will search for and produce documents 

going back three years sufficiently identifies 

the materials being withheld on the basis of 

the objection. 

Fed. R. Civ. P. 34 Advisory Committee 

Notes—2015 Amendment. 

No other comments concerning the 

proposed amendments to § 210.30 were 

received other than general support for 

the use of gender-neutral language in 

the rules. The Commission has therefore 

determined to adopt the proposed rule 

as stated in the NPRM with the above 

clarifications proposed by the ITCTLA. 

List of Subjects in 19 CFR Parts 201, 

206, 207, and 210 

Administration practice and 

procedure, Business and industry, 

Customs duties and inspection, Imports, 

Investigations Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the United States 

International Trade Commission 

proposes to amend 19 CFR parts 201, 

206, 207, and 210 as follows: 

PART 201—RULES OF GENERAL 

APPLICATION 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 201 

is revised to read as follows: 

Authority: 19 U.S.C. 1335; 19 U.S.C. 2482; 

the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 

551, et seq.), unless otherwise noted. 

Subpart A—Miscellaneous 

■ 2. Amend § 201.3a by revising 

paragraph (c) to read as follows: 

§ 201.3a Missing children information. 

* * * * * 

(c) The procedure established in 

paragraph (b) of this section will result 

in missing children information being 

inserted in an estimated 25 percent of 

the Commission’s penalty mail and will 

cost an estimated $1,500 for the first 

year of implementation. The Chief 

Administrative Officer shall make such 

changes in the procedure as the Officer 

deems appropriate to maximize the use 

of missing children information in the 

Commission’s mail. 

Subpart B—Initiation and Conduct of 

Investigations 

■ 3. Amend § 201.8 by revising 

paragraphs (a) and (c), revising and 

republishing paragraph (d), and revising 

paragraphs (e) through (g) to read as 

follows: 


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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 2 / Friday, January 3, 2025 / Rules and Regulations 233 

§ 201.8 Filing of documents. 

(a) Applicability; where to file; date of 

filing. This section applies to all 

Commission proceedings except, 

notwithstanding any other section of 

this chapter, those conducted under 19 

U.S.C. 1337, which are covered by 

requirements set out in part 210 of this 

chapter. Documents shall be filed with 

the office of the Secretary through the 

Commission’s Electronic Document 

Information System (EDIS) website at 

https://edis.usitc.gov. If a paper filing is 

required or authorized under paragraphs 

(d)(2) and (3) of this section, documents 

shall be filed at the office of the 

Secretary in Washington, DC. Such 

documents, if properly filed within the 

hours of operation specified in 

§ 201.3(c), will be deemed to be filed on 

the date on which they are actually 

received by the Commission. 

* * * * * 

(c) Specifications for documents. Each 

document filed under this chapter shall 

be signed, double-spaced, clear and 

legible, except that a document of two 

pages or less in length need not be 

double-spaced. All submissions shall be 

in letter-sized format (8.5 x 11 inches), 

except copies of documents prepared for 

another agency or a court (e.g., 

pleadings papers). The name of the 

person signing the original shall be 

typewritten or otherwise reproduced on 

each copy. 

(d) Filing. (1) All documents filed 

with the Commission shall be filed 

electronically. All filings shall comply 

with the procedures set forth in the 

Commission’s Electronic Document 

Information System website at https://

edis.usitc.gov. See also https://

www.usitc.gov/press_room/ 

edissupport.htm. Failure to comply with 

the requirements of this chapter and the 

Handbook on Filing Procedures that 

apply to the filing of a document may 

result in the rejection of the document 

as improperly filed. 

(2) Supplementary material and 

witness testimony provided for under 

§ 201.13 or § 207.15 or § 207.24 of this 

chapter shall also be filed in accordance 

with the provisions of the applicable 

section. 

(3) The Secretary may provide for 

exceptions and modifications to the 

filing requirements set out in this 

chapter. A person seeking an exception 

should consult the Handbook on Filing 

Procedures. 

(4) During any period in which the 

Commission is closed, deadlines for 

filing documents electronically and by 

other means are extended so that 

documents are due on the first business 

day after the end of the closure. 

(e) Identification of party filing 

document. Each document filed with 

the Commission for the purpose of 

initiating any investigation shall show 

on the first page thereof the name, 

address, and telephone number of the 

party or parties by whom or on whose 

behalf the document is filed and shall 

be signed by the party filing the 

document or by a duly authorized 

officer, attorney, or corporate 

representative of such party. Also, any 

attorney or corporate representative 

filing the document shall give a current 

address, electronic mail address, and 

telephone number. The signature of the 

person signing such a document 

constitutes a certification that the 

person has read the document, that to 

the best of that person’s knowledge and 

belief the statements contained therein 

are true, and that the person signing the 

document was duly authorized to sign 

it. 

(f) Nonconfidential copies. In the 

event that confidential treatment of a 

document is requested under § 201.6(b), 

a nonconfidential version of the 

document shall be filed, in which the 

confidential business information shall 

have been deleted and which shall have 

been conspicuously marked 

‘‘nonconfidential’’ or ‘‘public 

inspection.’’ The nonconfidential 

version shall be filed electronically. In 

the event that confidential treatment is 

not requested for a document under 

§ 201.6(b), the document shall be 

conspicuously marked ‘‘No confidential 

version filed,’’ and the document shall 

be filed in accordance with paragraph 

(d) of this section. The name of the 

person signing the original shall be 

typewritten or otherwise reproduced on 

each copy. 

(g) Cover sheet. For documents that 

are filed electronically, parties must 

complete the cover sheet form for such 

filing online at https://edis.usitc.gov at 

the time of the electronic filing. When 

making a paper filing, parties must 

complete the cover sheet form on-line at 

https://edis.usitc.gov and print out the 

cover sheet for submission to the Office 

of the Secretary with the paper filing. 

The party submitting the cover sheet is 

responsible for the accuracy of all 

information contained in the cover 

sheet, including, but not limited to, the 

security status and the investigation 

number, and must comply with 

applicable limitations on disclosure of 

business proprietary information or 

confidential information under § 201.6 

and §§ 206.8, 206.17, 207.3, and 207.7 of 

this chapter. 

■ 4. Revise § 201.12 to read as follows: 

§ 201.12 Requests. 

Any party to a nonadjudicative 

investigation may request the 

Commission to take particular action 

with respect to that investigation. Such 

requests shall be filed by letter 

addressed to the Secretary, shall be 

placed by the Secretary in the record, 

and shall be served on all other parties. 

The Commission shall take such action 

or make such response as it deems 

appropriate. 

■ 5. Amend § 201.13 by revising 

paragraphs (d) and (f) to read as follows: 

§ 201.13 Conduct of nonadjudicative 

hearings. 

* * * * * 

(d) Witness list. Each person who files 

a notice of participation pursuant to 

paragraph (c) of this section shall 

simultaneously file with the Secretary a 

list of the witnesses that person intends 

to call at the hearing. 

* * * * * 

(f) Supplementary material. (1) A 

party to the investigation may file with 

the Secretary supplementary material 

for acceptance into the record. The party 

shall file any such material with the 

Secretary no later than the day of the 

hearing. Supplementary materials must 

be marked with the name of the 

organization submitting it. As used 

herein, the term supplementary material 

refers to: 

(i) Additional graphic material such 

as charts and diagrams used to 

illuminate an argument or clarify a 

position; and 

(ii) Information not available to a 

party at the time its prehearing brief was 

filed. 

(2) Supplementary material does not 

include witness statements which are 

addressed in §§ 207.15 and 207.24 of 

this chapter. 

* * * * * 

■ 6. Amend § 201.14 by revising 

paragraph (b)(3) to read as follows: 

§ 201.14 Computation of time, additional 

hearings, postponements, continuances, 

and extensions of time. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(3) A request that the Commission 

take any of the actions described in this 

section shall be filed with the Secretary 

and served on all parties to the 

investigation. 

■ 7. Revise § 201.15 to read as follows: 

§ 201.15 Attorneys and others practicing 

or appearing before the Commission. 

(a) In general. No register of attorneys 

who may practice before the 

Commission is maintained. No separate 

application for admission to practice 


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before the Commission is required. 

Attorneys practicing before the 

Commission, or desiring to so practice, 

must maintain a bar membership in 

good standing in any State of the United 

States or the District of Columbia. 

Persons practicing before the 

Commission must report any discipline 

or suspension by any bar association, 

court, or agency. Non-attorneys desiring 

to appear before the Commission may be 

required to show to the satisfaction of 

the Commission that they are acceptable 

in the capacity in which they seek to 

appear. Any person practicing or 

appearing before the Commission, or 

desiring to do so, may for good cause 

shown be suspended or barred from 

practicing or appearing before the 

Commission, or may be subject to such 

lesser sanctions as the Commission 

deems appropriate, but only after having 

been afforded an opportunity to present 

that person’s views in the matter. 

(b) Former officers or employees. No 

former officer or employee of the 

Commission who personally and 

substantially participated in a matter 

which was pending in any manner or 

form in the Commission during that 

person’s employment shall be eligible to 

practice or appear before the 

Commission in connection with such 

matter. No former officer or employee of 

the Commission shall be eligible to 

practice or appear before the 

Commission in connection with any 

matter which was pending in any 

manner or form in the Commission 

during that person’s employment 

without first obtaining written consent 

from the Commission. 

■ 8. Amend § 201.16 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraphs (d) and (e); and 

■ b. Removing the parenthetical 

authority citation at the end of the 

section. 

The revisions read as follows: 

§ 201.16 Service of process and other 

documents. 

* * * * * 

(d) Additional time after service by 

mail. Whenever a party or Federal 

agency or department has the right or is 

required to perform some act or take 

some action within a prescribed period 

after the service of a document upon it 

and the document is served upon it by 

mail, three (3) calendar days shall be 

added to the prescribed period, except 

that when mailing is to a person located 

in a foreign country, ten (10) calendar 

days shall be added to the prescribed 

period. Computation of additional time 

for Commission proceedings conducted 

under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 

1930 (19 U.S.C. 1337) is set out in 

§ 210.6 of this chapter. 

(e) Additional time after service by 

express delivery. Whenever a party or 

Federal agency or department has the 

right or is required to perform some act 

or take some action within a prescribed 

period after the service of a document 

upon it and the document is served by 

express delivery, one (1) calendar day 

shall be added to the prescribed period 

if the service is to a destination in the 

United States, and five (5) calendar days 

shall be added to the prescribed period 

if the service is to a destination outside 

the United States. ‘‘Service by express 

delivery’’ refers to a method that would 

provide delivery by the next business 

day within the United States and refers 

to the equivalent express delivery 

service when the delivery is to a foreign 

location. Computation of additional 

time for Commission proceedings 

conducted under section 337 of the 

Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1337) is set 

out in § 210.6 of this chapter. 

* * * * * 

Subpart C—Availability of Information 

to the Public Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552 

■ 9. Amend § 201.20 by revising 

paragraphs (d)(2)(iii), (e), and (g)(2) to 

read as follows: 

§ 201.20 Fees. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(iii) The contribution of an 

understanding of the subject by the 

public likely to result from disclosure: 

Whether disclosure of the requested 

information will contribute to ‘‘public 

understanding.’’ The disclosure must 

contribute to the understanding of the 

public at large, as opposed to the 

individual understanding of the 

requester or a narrow segment of 

interested persons. A requester’s 

identity and qualifications—e.g., 

expertise in the subject area and ability 

and intention to effectively convey 

information to the general public—shall 

be considered. It will be presumed that 

a representative of the news media (as 

defined in paragraph (j)(8) of this 

section) who has access to the means of 

public dissemination readily will be 

able to satisfy this consideration. 

Requests from libraries or other record 

repositories (or requesters who intend 

merely to disseminate information to 

such institutions) shall be analyzed, like 

those of other requesters, to identify a 

particular person who represents that 

that person actually will use the 

requested information in scholarly or 

other analytic work and then 

disseminate it to the general public. 

* * * * * 

(e) Notice of anticipated fees in excess 

of $25.00. Where the Secretary 

determines or estimates that the fees to 

be assessed under this section may 

amount to more than $25.00, the 

Secretary shall notify the requester as 

soon as practicable of the actual or 

estimated amount of the fees, unless the 

requester has indicated in advance a 

willingness to pay fees as high as those 

anticipated. (If only a portion of the fee 

can be estimated readily, the Secretary 

shall advise the requester that the 

estimated fee may be only a portion of 

the total fee.) In cases where a requester 

has been notified that actual or 

estimated fees may amount to more than 

$25.00, the request will be deemed not 

to have been received until the requester 

has agreed to pay the anticipated total 

fee. A notice of the requester pursuant 

to this paragraph (e) shall offer the 

opportunity to confer with agency 

personnel in order to reformulate the 

request to meet the requester’s needs at 

a lower cost. 

* * * * * 

(g) * * * 

(2) Where a requester has previously 

failed to pay a records access fee within 

thirty (30) days of the date of billing, the 

Secretary may require the requester to 

pay the full amount owed, plus any 

applicable interest (as provided for in 

paragraph (h) of this section), and to 

make an advance payment of the full 

amount of any estimated fee before 

beginning to process a new request or 

continuing to process a pending request 

from that requester. 

* * * * * 

Subpart D—Safeguarding Individual 

Privacy Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a 

■ 10. Amend § 201.32 by revising 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 201.32 Specific exemptions. 

* * * * * 

(b) Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(1) and 

(2), records contained in the system 

entitled ‘‘Freedom of Information Act 

and Privacy Act Records’’ have been 

exempted from paragraphs (c)(3), (d), 

(e)(1), (e)(4)(G) through (I) and (f) of the 

Privacy Act. Pursuant to section 

552a(k)(1) of the Privacy Act, the 

Commission exempts records that 

contain properly classified information 

pertaining to national defense or foreign 

policy. Application of exemption (k)(1) 

may be necessary to preclude 

individuals’ access to or amendment of 

such classified information under the 

Privacy Act. Pursuant to section 

552a(k)(2) of the Privacy Act, and in 

order to protect the effectiveness of 

Inspector General investigations by 


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preventing individuals who may be the 

subject of an investigation from 

obtaining access to the records and thus 

obtaining the opportunity to conceal or 

destroy evidence or to intimidate 

witnesses, the Commission exempts 

records insofar as they include 

investigatory material compiled for law 

enforcement purposes. However, if any 

individual is denied any right, privilege, 

or benefit to which that individual is 

otherwise entitled under Federal law 

due to the maintenance of this material, 

such material shall be provided to such 

individual except to the extent that the 

disclosure of such material would reveal 

the identity of a source who furnished 

information to the Government under an 

express promise that the identity of the 

source would be held in confidence. 

PART 206—INVESTIGATIONS 

RELATING TO GLOBAL AND 

BILATERAL SAFEGUARD ACTIONS, 

MARKET DISRUPTION, TRADE 

DIVERSION, AND REVIEW OF RELIEF 

ACTION 

■ 11. The authority citation for part 206 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 19 U.S.C. 1335, 2112 note, 

2251–2254, 2436, 3805 note, 4051–4065, 

4101, and 4551–4552. 

Subpart A—General 

■ 12. Revise § 206.2 to read as follows: 

§ 206.2 Identification of type of petition or 

request. 

An investigation under this part may 

be commenced on the basis of a 

petition, request, resolution, or motion 

as provided for in the statutory 

provisions listed in §§ 206.1 and 206.31. 

Each petition or request, as the case may 

be, filed by an entity representative of 

a domestic industry under this part 

shall state clearly on the first page 

thereof ‘‘This is a [petition or request] 

under section [citing the statutory 

provision] and Subpart [B, C, D, E, F, or 

G] of part 206 of the rules of practice 

and procedure of the United States 

International Trade Commission.’’ The 

petition or request, along with all 

exhibits, appendices, and attachments, 

must be filed in accordance with § 201.8 

of this chapter. 

■ 13. Amend § 206.8 by revising 

paragraph (d) to read as follows: 

§ 206.8 Service, filing, and certification of 

documents. 

* * * * * 

(d) Briefs. All briefs filed in 

proceedings subject to this part shall be 

filed in accordance with § 201.8 of this 

chapter. 

PART 207—INVESTIGATIONS OF 

WHETHER INJURY TO DOMESTIC 

INDUSTRIES RESULTS FROM 

IMPORTS SOLD AT LESS THAN FAIR 

VALUE OR FROM SUBSIDIZED 

EXPORTS TO THE UNITED STATES 

■ 14. The authority citation for part 207 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 19 U.S.C. 1335, 1671–1677n, 

2482, 3513, 4582. 

Subpart B—Preliminary 

Determinations 

■ 15. Amend § 207.10 by revising 

paragraphs (a) and (b)(1)(i) to read as 

follows: 

§ 207.10 Filing of petition with the 

Commission. 

(a) Filing of the petition. Any 

interested party who files a petition 

with the administering authority 

pursuant to section 702(b) or section 

732(b) of the Act in a case in which a 

Commission determination under title 

VII of the Act is required, shall file 

copies of the petition and all exhibits, 

appendices, and attachments thereto, 

pursuant to § 201.8 of this chapter, with 

the Secretary on the same day the 

petition is filed with the administering 

authority. If the petition complies with 

the provisions of § 207.11, it shall be 

deemed to be properly filed on the date 

on which the electronic filing of the 

petition is received by the Secretary, 

provided that, if the petition is filed 

with the Secretary after 12 noon, eastern 

time, the petition shall be deemed filed 

on the next business day. 

Notwithstanding § 207.11, a petitioner 

need not file an entry of appearance in 

the investigation instituted upon the 

filing of its petition, which shall be 

deemed an entry of appearance. 

(b) * * * 

(1)(i) The Secretary shall promptly 

notify a petitioner when, before the 

establishment of a service list under 

§ 207.7(a)(4), the Secretary approves an 

application under § 207.7(a). A copy of 

the petition including all business 

proprietary information shall then be 

served by petitioner on those approved 

applicants in accord with § 207.3(b) 

within two (2) calendar days of the time 

notification is made by the Secretary. 

* * * * * 

■ 16. Revise § 207.15 to read as follows: 

§ 207.15 Written briefs and conference. 

Each party may submit to the 

Commission on or before a date 

specified in the notice of investigation 

issued pursuant to § 207.12 a written 

brief containing information and 

arguments pertinent to the subject 

matter of the investigation. Briefs shall 

be signed, shall include a table of 

contents, and shall contain no more 

than fifty (50) pages of textual material. 

Any person not a party may submit a 

brief written statement of information 

pertinent to the investigation within the 

time specified and the same manner 

specified for the filing of briefs. In 

addition, the presiding official may 

permit persons to file within a specified 

time answers to questions or requests 

made by the Commission’s staff. If the 

presiding official deems it appropriate, 

the presiding official shall hold a 

conference. The conference, if any, shall 

be held in accordance with the 

procedures in § 201.13 of this chapter, 

except that in connection with its 

presentation a party may provide 

written witness testimony at the 

conference. The party shall file the 

written testimony in accordance with 

§ 201.8(d) of this chapter no later than 

the date of the conference. If the written 

testimony is filed on the day of the 

conference, the party shall also file with 

the Secretary on that day nine (9) true 

paper copies of any such written 

testimony. The presiding official may 

request the appearance of witnesses, 

take testimony, and administer oaths. 

Subpart C—Final Determinations, 

Short Life Cycle Products 

■ 17. Amend § 207.23 by revising the 

first and second sentences to read as 

follows: 

§ 207.23 Prehearing brief. 

Each party who is an interested party 

shall submit to the Commission, no later 

than five (5) business days prior to the 

date of the hearing specified in the 

notice of scheduling, a prehearing brief. 

Prehearing briefs shall be signed and 

shall include a table of contents. * * * 

■ 18. Amend § 207.24 by revising 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 207.24 Hearing. 

* * * * * 

(b) Procedures. Any hearing shall be 

conducted after notice published in the 

Federal Register. The hearing shall not 

be subject to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 

subchapter II, chapter 5, or to 5 U.S.C. 

702. Each party shall limit its 

presentation at the hearing to a 

summary of the information and 

arguments contained in its prehearing 

brief, an analysis of the information and 

arguments contained in the prehearing 

briefs described in § 207.23, and 

information not available at the time its 

prehearing brief was filed. Unless a 

portion of the hearing is closed, 

presentations at the hearing shall not 


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include business proprietary 

information. In connection with its 

presentation, a party may provide 

written witness testimony at the 

hearing. The party shall file the written 

testimony in accordance with § 201.8(d) 

of this chapter no later than the date of 

the hearing. If the written testimony is 

filed on the day of the hearing, the party 

shall also file with the Secretary on that 

day nine (9) true paper copies of any 

such written testimony. In the case of 

testimony to be presented at a closed 

session held in response to a request 

under paragraph (d) of this section, 

confidential and non-confidential 

versions shall be filed in accordance 

with § 207.3. Any person not a party 

may make a brief oral statement of 

information pertinent to the 

investigation. 

* * * * * 

■ 19. Revise § 207.25 to read as follows: 

§ 207.25 Posthearing briefs. 

Any party may file a posthearing brief 

concerning the information adduced at 

or after the hearing with the Secretary 

within a time specified in the notice of 

scheduling or by the presiding official at 

the hearing. No such posthearing brief 

shall exceed fifteen (15) pages of textual 

material. In addition, the presiding 

official may permit persons to file 

answers to questions or requests made 

by the Commission at the hearing 

within a specified time. The Secretary 

shall not accept for filing posthearing 

briefs or answers which do not comply 

with this section. 

■ 20. Revise § 207.28 to read as follows: 

§ 207.28 Anticircumvention. 

Prior to providing advice to the 

administering authority pursuant to 

section 781(e)(3) of the Act, the 

Commission shall publish in the 

Federal Register a notice that such 

advice is contemplated. Any person 

may file one written submission 

concerning the matter described in the 

notice no later than fourteen (14) days 

after publication of the notice. The 

submission shall contain no more than 

fifty (50) pages of textual material. The 

Commission shall by notice provide for 

additional submissions as it deems 

necessary. 

■ 21. Amend § 207.30 by revising 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 207.30 Comment on information. 

* * * * * 

(b) The parties shall have an 

opportunity to file comments on any 

information disclosed to them after they 

have filed their posthearing brief 

pursuant to § 207.25. Comments shall 

only concern such information, and 

shall not exceed fifteen (15) pages of 

textual material. A comment may 

address the accuracy, reliability, or 

probative value of such information by 

reference to information elsewhere in 

the record, in which case the comment 

shall identify where in the record such 

information is found. Comments 

containing new factual information 

shall be disregarded. The date on which 

such comments must be filed will be 

specified by the Commission when it 

specifies the time that information will 

be disclosed pursuant to paragraph (a) 

of this section. The record shall close on 

the date such comments are due, except 

with respect to investigations subject to 

the provisions of section 771(7)(G)(iii) of 

the Act, and with respect to changes in 

bracketing of business proprietary 

information in the comments permitted 

by § 207.3(c). 

Subpart F—Five-Year Reviews 

§ 207.61 [Amended] 

■ 22. Amend § 207.61 by removing 

paragraph (e). 

■ 23. Amend § 207.62 by revising 

paragraph (b)(2) to read as follows: 

§ 207.62 Rulings on adequacy and nature 

of Commission review. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(2) Comments shall be submitted 

within the time specified in the notice 

of institution. In a grouped review, only 

one set of comments shall be filed per 

party. Comments shall not exceed 

fifteen (15) pages of textual material. 

Comments containing new factual 

information shall be disregarded. 

* * * * * 

■ 24. Amend § 207.65 by revising the 

first and second sentences to read as 

follows: 

§ 207.65 Prehearing briefs. 

Each party to a five-year review may 

submit a prehearing brief to the 

Commission on the date specified in the 

scheduling notice. A prehearing brief 

shall be signed and shall include a table 

of contents. * * * 

■ 25. Amend § 207.67 by revising 

paragraph (a) to read as follows: 

§ 207.67 Posthearing briefs and 

statements. 

(a) Briefs from parties. Any party to a 

five-year review may file with the 

Secretary a posthearing brief concerning 

the information adduced at or after the 

hearing within a time specified in the 

scheduling notice or by the presiding 

official at the hearing. No such 

posthearing brief shall exceed fifteen 

(15) pages of textual material. In 

addition, the presiding official may 

permit persons to file answers to 

questions or requests made by the 

Commission at the hearing within a 

specified time. The Secretary shall not 

accept for filing posthearing briefs or 

answers which do not comply with this 

section. 

* * * * * 

■ 26. Amend § 207.68 by revising 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 207.68 Final comments on information. 

* * * * * 

(b) The parties shall have an 

opportunity to file comments on any 

information disclosed to them after they 

have filed their posthearing brief 

pursuant to § 207.67. Comments shall 

only concern such information, and 

shall not exceed fifteen (15) pages of 

textual material. A comment may 

address the accuracy, reliability, or 

probative value of such information by 

reference to information elsewhere in 

the record, in which case the comment 

shall identify where in the record such 

information is found. Comments 

containing new factual information 

shall be disregarded. The date on which 

such comments must be filed will be 

specified by the Commission when it 

specifies the time that information will 

be disclosed pursuant to paragraph (a) 

of this section. The record shall close on 

the date such comments are due, except 

with respect to changes in bracketing of 

business proprietary information in the 

comments permitted by § 207.3(c). 

PART 210—ADJUDICATION AND 

ENFORCEMENT 

■ 27. The authority citation for part 210 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 19 U.S.C. 1333, 1335, and 1337. 

Subpart A—Rules of General 

Applicability 

■ 28. Amend § 210.4 by revising 

paragraphs (b) and (d)(1)(i), revising and 

republishing paragraph (f), and revising 

paragraphs (g) and (h) to read as follows: 

§ 210.4 Written submissions; 

representations; sanctions. 

* * * * * 

(b) Signature. Every pleading, written 

motion, and other paper of a party or 

proposed party who is represented by 

an attorney in an investigation or a 

related proceeding under this part shall 

be signed by at least one attorney of 

record in the attorney’s individual 

name. A party or proposed party who is 

not represented by an attorney shall 

sign, or a duly authorized officer or 


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corporate representative of that party or 

proposed party shall sign, the pleading, 

written motion, or other paper. Each 

paper shall state the signer’s address 

and telephone number, if any. 

Pleadings, written motions, and other 

papers need not be under oath or 

accompanied by an affidavit, except as 

provided in § 210.12(a)(1), § 210.13(b), 

§ 210.18, § 210.52(d), § 210.59(b), or 

another section of this part or by order 

of the administrative law judge or the 

Commission. If a pleading, motion, or 

other paper is not signed, it shall be 

stricken unless it is signed promptly 

after omission of the signature is called 

to the attention of the submitter. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(i) By motion. A motion for sanctions 

under this section shall be made 

separately from other motions or 

requests and shall describe the specific 

conduct alleged to violate paragraph (c) 

of this section. It shall be served as 

provided in paragraph (i) of this section, 

but shall not be filed with or presented 

to the presiding administrative law 

judge or the Commission unless, within 

seven (7) days after service of the 

motion (or such other period as the 

administrative law judge or the 

Commission may prescribe), the 

challenged paper, claim, defense, 

contention, allegation, or denial is not 

withdrawn or appropriately corrected. 

See also § 210.25(a) through (c). If 

warranted, the administrative law judge 

or the Commission may award to the 

party or proposed party prevailing on 

the motion the reasonable expenses and 

attorney’s fees incurred in presenting or 

opposing the motion. Absent 

exceptional circumstances, a law firm 

shall be held jointly responsible for 

violations committed by its partners, 

associates, and employees. 

* * * * * 

(f) Filing of documents. (1) Written 

submissions that are addressed to the 

Commission during an investigation or 

a related proceeding shall comply with 

the Commission’s Handbook on Filing 

Procedures, which is issued by and 

available from the Secretary and posted 

on the Commission’s Electronic 

Document Information System website 

at https://edis.usitc.gov. Failure to 

comply with the requirements of this 

chapter and the Handbook on Filing 

Procedures in the filing of a document 

may result in the rejection of the 

document as improperly filed. 

(2) All documents filed under this 

part shall be filed electronically. 

(3) Sections 210.8 and 210.12 set out 

additional requirements for a complaint 

filed under § 210.8. Additional 

requirements for a complaint filed 

under § 210.75 are set forth in § 210.75. 

(4)(i) If a complaint, a supplement or 

amendment to a complaint, a motion for 

temporary relief, or the documentation 

supporting a motion for temporary relief 

contains confidential business 

information as defined in § 201.6(a) of 

this chapter, the complainant shall file 

nonconfidential copies of the complaint, 

the supplement or amendment to the 

complaint, the motion for temporary 

relief, or the documentation supporting 

the motion for temporary relief 

concurrently with the requisite 

confidential copies, as provided in 

§ 210.8(a). A nonconfidential copy of all 

exhibits, appendices, and attachments 

to the document shall be filed in 

electronic form on one CD–ROM, DVD, 

or other portable electronic media 

approved by the Secretary, separate 

from the media used for the confidential 

version. 

(ii)(A) Persons who file the following 

submissions that contain confidential 

business information covered by an 

administrative protective order, or that 

are the subject of a request for 

confidential treatment, must file 

nonconfidential copies and serve them 

on the other parties to the investigation 

or related proceeding within ten (10) 

calendar days after filing the 

confidential version with the 

Commission: 

(1) A response to a complaint and all 

supplements and exhibits thereto; 

(2) All submissions relating to a 

motion to amend the complaint or 

notice of investigation; and 

(3) All submissions addressed to the 

Commission. 

(B) Other sections of this part may 

require, or the Commission or the 

administrative law judge may order, the 

filing and service of nonconfidential 

copies of other kinds of confidential 

submissions. If the submitter’s ability to 

prepare a nonconfidential copy is 

dependent upon receipt of the 

nonconfidential version of an initial 

determination, or a Commission order 

or opinion, or a ruling by the 

administrative law judge or the 

Commission as to whether some or all 

of the information at issue is entitled to 

confidential treatment, the 

nonconfidential copies of the 

submission must be filed within 10 

calendar days after service of the 

Commission or administrative law judge 

document in question. The time periods 

for filing specified in this paragraph 

(f)(4)(ii)(B) apply unless the 

Commission, the administrative law 

judge, or another section of this part 

specifically provides otherwise. 

(5) The Secretary may provide for 

exceptions and modifications to the 

filing requirements set out in this 

chapter. A person seeking an exception 

should consult the Handbook on Filing 

Procedures. 

(6) Documents shall be filed with the 

Office of the Secretary through the 

Commission’s Electronic Document 

Information System (EDIS) website at 

https://edis.usitc.gov. If a paper filing is 

required or authorized under paragraph 

(f)(5) of this section, documents shall be 

filed at the office of the Secretary in 

Washington, DC. Such documents, if 

properly filed within the hours of 

operation specified in § 201.3(c) of this 

chapter, will be deemed to be filed on 

the date on which they are actually 

received by the Commission. 

(7) Each document filed with the 

Commission for the purpose of initiating 

any investigation shall be considered 

properly filed if it conforms with the 

pertinent rules prescribed in this 

chapter. Substantial compliance with 

the pertinent rules may be accepted by 

the Commission provided good and 

sufficient reason is stated in the 

document for inability to comply fully 

with the pertinent rules. 

(8) During any period in which the 

Commission is closed, deadlines for 

filing documents electronically and by 

other means are extended so that 

documents are due on the first business 

day after the end of the closure. 

(g) Cover sheet. For documents that 

are filed electronically, parties must 

complete the cover sheet form for such 

filing on-line at https://edis.usitc.gov at 

the time of the electronic filing. When 

making a paper filing, parties must 

complete the cover sheet form online at 

https://edis.usitc.gov and print out the 

cover sheet for submission to the Office 

of the Secretary with the paper filing. 

The party submitting the cover sheet is 

responsible for the accuracy of all 

information contained in the cover 

sheet, including, but not limited to, the 

security status and the investigation 

number, and must comply with 

applicable limitations on disclosure of 

confidential information under § 210.5. 

(h) Specifications. (1) Each document 

filed under this chapter shall be doublespaced, clear and legible, except that a 

document of two pages or less in length 

need not be double-spaced. All 

submissions shall be in letter-sized 

format (8.5 × 11 inches), except copies 

of documents prepared for another 

agency or a court (e.g., patent file 

wrappers or pleadings papers). Typed 

matter shall not exceed 6.5 × 9.5 inches 

using 11-point or larger type and shall 

be double-spaced between each line of 

text using the standard of 6 lines of type 


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per inch. Text and footnotes shall be in 

the same size type. Quotations more 

than two lines long in the text or 

footnotes may be indented and singlespaced. Headings and footnotes may be 

single-spaced. 

(2) The presiding administrative law 

judge may impose any specifications the 

administrative law judge deems 

appropriate for submissions that are 

addressed to the administrative law 

judge. 

* * * * * 

■ 29. Amend § 210.7 by revising 

paragraph (a)(2) to read as follows: 

§ 210.7 Service of process and other 

documents; publication of notices. 

(a) * * * 

(2) The service of all initial 

determinations as defined in § 210.42, 

all cease and desist orders as set forth 

in § 210.50(a)(1), all show cause orders 

issued under § 210.16(b)(1)(i), and all 

documents containing confidential 

business information as defined in 

§ 201.6(a) of this chapter, issued by or 

on behalf of the Commission or the 

administrative law judge on a private 

party, shall be effected by serving a copy 

of the document by express delivery, as 

defined in § 201.16(e) of this chapter, on 

the person to be served, on a member of 

the partnership to be served, on the 

president, secretary, other executive 

officer, or member of the board of 

directors of the corporation, association, 

or other organization to be served, or, if 

an attorney represents a person or entity 

to be served in connection with an 

investigation under part 210, by serving 

a copy by express delivery on such 

attorney. 

* * * * * 

Subpart B—Commencement of 

Preinstitution Proceedings and 

Investigations 

■ 30. Amend § 210.8 by revising the 

introductory text and paragraphs (a), (b) 

introductory text, (c)(1) introductory 

text, and (c)(2) and adding paragraph 

(c)(3) to read as follows: 

§ 210.8 Commencement of preinstitution 

proceedings. 

A preinstitution proceeding is 

commenced by filing with the Secretary 

a signed complaint. 

(a) Filing and service copies. (1)(i) A 

complaint, enforcement complaint, 

supplement, or amendment under 

§ 210.14(a) thereto, filed under this 

section shall be filed with the Secretary 

pursuant to § 210.4. By close of business 

the next business day following official 

receipt of the complaint, complainant 

must deliver copies to the Secretary for 

service by the Secretary as follows: 

(A) For each proposed respondent, 

one (1) true paper copy of the 

nonconfidential version of the 

complaint, one (1) true paper copy of 

the confidential version of the 

complaint, if any, and one (1) true paper 

copy of any supplements or 

amendments under § 210.14(a), along 

with one (1) true copy of the 

nonconfidential exhibits and one (1) 

true copy of the confidential exhibits in 

electronic form on a CD ROM, DVD, or 

other portable electronic media 

approved by the Secretary; and 

(B) For the government of the foreign 

country in which each proposed 

respondent is located as indicated in the 

complaint, one (1) true paper copy of 

the nonconfidential version of the 

complaint. 

(ii) Failure to timely provide service 

copies may result in a delay or denial 

of institution of an investigation under 

§ 210.10 for failure to properly file the 

complaint. 

(2) If the complaint, enforcement 

complaint, supplement, or amendment 

under § 210.14(a) thereto, is seeking 

temporary relief, the complainant must 

also by close of business the next 

business day following official receipt of 

the complaint, deliver copies to the 

Secretary for service as follows: for each 

proposed respondent, one (1) true paper 

copy of the nonconfidential version of 

the motion and one (1) true paper copy 

of the confidential version of the motion 

along with one (1) true copy of the 

nonconfidential exhibits and one (1) 

true copy of the confidential exhibits 

filed with the motion in electronic form 

on a CD ROM, DVD, or other portable 

electronic media approved by the 

Secretary. 

(b) Provide specific information 

regarding the public interest. 

Complainant must file, concurrently 

with the complaint, a separate statement 

of public interest, not to exceed five (5) 

pages, inclusive of attachments, 

addressing how issuance of the 

requested relief, i.e., a general exclusion 

order, a limited exclusion order, and/or 

a cease and desist order, in this 

investigation could affect the public 

health and welfare in the United States, 

competitive conditions in the United 

States economy, the production of like 

or directly competitive articles in the 

United States, or United States 

consumers. If the complainant files a 

confidential version of its submission 

on public interest, it shall file a public 

version of the submission no later than 

one business day after the deadline for 

filing the submission. In particular, the 

submission should: 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(1) When a complaint is filed, the 

Secretary to the Commission will 

publish a notice in the Federal Register 

inviting comments from the public, 

interested government agencies, and 

proposed respondents on any issues 

arising from the complaint and potential 

exclusion and/or cease and desist 

orders. In response to the notice, 

members of the public, interested 

government agencies, and proposed 

respondents may provide specific 

information regarding the public 

interest and other issues in a written 

submission not to exceed five (5) pages, 

inclusive of attachments, to the 

Secretary to the Commission within 

eight (8) calendar days of publication of 

notice of the filing of a complaint. 

Members of the public, interested 

government agencies, and proposed 

respondents may address how issuance 

of the requested exclusion order and/or 

a cease and desist order in this 

investigation could affect the public 

health and welfare in the United States, 

competitive conditions in the United 

States economy, the production of like 

or directly competitive articles in the 

United States, or United States 

consumers. If a member of the public, 

interested government agency, or 

proposed respondent files a confidential 

version of its submission, it shall file a 

public version of the submission with 

the Secretary to the Commission and 

provide a copy of the public version of 

the submission to complainant no later 

than one (1) business day after the 

deadline for filing the submission. 

Submissions addressing the public 

interest should: 

* * * * * 

(2) Complainant may file a reply to 

any submissions received under 

paragraph (c)(1) of this section not to 

exceed five (5) pages, inclusive of 

attachments, to the Secretary to the 

Commission within three (3) calendar 

days following the filing of the 

submissions. Notwithstanding 

§ 201.14(a) of this chapter, computation 

of the reply time period will begin with 

the first business day following the day 

on which submissions under paragraph 

(c)(1) are due, but will include 

subsequent Saturdays, Sundays, and 

Federal legal holidays. If the 

complainant files a confidential version 

of its submission, it shall file a public 

version of the submission no later than 

one (1) business day after the deadline 

for filing the submission. 


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(3) No further submissions will be 

accepted unless requested by the 

Commission. 

* * * * * 

■ 31. Amend § 210.10 by revising 

paragraphs (a)(1)(iii) and (iv) and adding 

paragraphs (a)(1)(v) and (a)(7) to read as 

follows: 

§ 210.10 Institution of investigation. 

(a)(1) * * * 

(iii) The complainant requests that the 

Commission postpone the 

determination on whether to institute an 

investigation; 

(iv) The complainant withdraws the 

complaint; or 

(v) The complaint or any exhibits or 

attachments thereto contain excessive 

designations of confidentiality that are 

not warranted under § 201.6(a) of this 

chapter and § 210.5. 

* * * * * 

(7) If the Commission determines that 

the complaint or any exhibits or 

attachments thereto contain excessive 

designations of confidentiality that are 

not warranted under § 201.6(a) of this 

chapter and § 210.5, the Commission 

may require the complainant to file new 

nonconfidential versions of the 

aforesaid submissions in accordance 

with § 210.4(f)(7)(i) and may determine 

that the thirty (30) day period for 

deciding whether to institute an 

investigation shall begin to run anew 

from the date the new nonconfidential 

versions are filed with the Commission 

in accordance with § 210.4(f)(7)(i). 

* * * * * 

■ 32. Amend § 210.11 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraphs (a)(1) and (2); 

■ b. Removing paragraph (a)(3); and 

■ c. Redesignating paragraph (a)(4) as 

paragraph (a)(3). 

The revisions read as follows: 

§ 210.11 Service of complaint and notice 

of investigation upon institution. 

(a)(1) Upon institution of an 

investigation, the Commission shall 

serve: 

(i) Copies of the nonconfidential 

version of the complaint, the 

nonconfidential exhibits, and the notice 

of investigation upon each respondent; 

and 

(ii) Copies of the nonconfidential 

version of the complaint and the notice 

of investigation upon the embassy in 

Washington, DC, of the country in 

which each proposed respondent is 

located as indicated in the complaint. 

(2) If the Commission institutes 

temporary relief proceedings, upon 

institution of an investigation, the 

Commission shall also serve copies of 

the nonconfidential version of the 

motion for temporary relief, the 

nonconfidential version of the 

complaint, and the notice of 

investigation upon each respondent. 

* * * * * 

Subpart C—Pleadings 

■ 33. Revise and republish § 210.12 to 

read as follows: 

§ 210.12 The complaint. 

(a) Contents of the complaint. In 

addition to conforming with the 

requirements of §§ 210.4 and 210.5, the 

complaint shall— 

(1) Be under oath and signed by the 

complainant or the complainant’s duly 

authorized officer, attorney, or corporate 

representative, with the name, address, 

email address, and telephone number of 

the complainant and any such officer, 

attorney, or corporate representative 

given on the first page of the complaint, 

and include a statement attesting to the 

representations in § 210.4(c)(1) through 

(3). 

(2) Include a statement of the facts 

constituting the alleged unfair methods 

of competition and unfair acts. 

(3) Describe specific instances of 

alleged unlawful importations or sales, 

and shall provide the Harmonized Tariff 

Schedule of the United States item 

number(s) for such importations. 

(4) State the name, address, and 

nature of the business (when such 

nature is known) of each person alleged 

to be violating section 337 of the Tariff 

Act of 1930. 

(5) Include a statement as to whether 

the alleged unfair methods of 

competition and unfair acts, or the 

subject matter thereof, are or have been 

the subject of any court or agency 

litigation, or of any arbitration, and, if 

so, include a brief summary of such 

proceeding. 

(6)(i) If the complaint alleges a 

violation of section 337 based on 

infringement of a U.S. patent, or a 

federally registered copyright, 

trademark, mask work, or vessel hull 

design, under section 337(a)(1)(B), (C), 

(D), or (E) of the Tariff Act of 1930, 

include a statement as to whether an 

alleged domestic industry exists or is in 

the process of being established as 

defined in section 337(a)(2). Include the 

following information with the 

statement: 

(A) For complaints alleging that a 

domestic industry exists, a detailed 

description of the relevant domestic 

industry as defined in section 337(a)(3) 

that allegedly exists including facts 

showing significant/substantial 

investment and employment, and also 

including the relevant operations of any 

licensees; 

(B) For complaints alleging a domestic 

industry that is in the process of being 

established, a detailed description of the 

relevant domestic industry that is in the 

process of being established including 

facts showing that complainant is 

actively engaged in the steps leading to 

the exploitation of its intellectual 

property rights and that there is a 

significant likelihood that an industry 

will be established in the future, and 

also including the relevant operations of 

any licensees; and 

(C) Relevant information that should 

be included in the statements pursuant 

to paragraphs (a)(6)(i)(A) and (B) of this 

section includes but is not limited to: 

(1) Significant investment in plant 

and equipment; 

(2) Significant employment of labor or 

capital; or 

(3) Substantial investment in the 

exploitation of the subject patent, 

copyright, trademark, mask work, or 

vessel hull design, including 

engineering, research and development, 

or licensing; 

(ii) If the complaint alleges a violation 

of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 

based on unfair methods of competition 

and unfair acts in the importation or 

sale of articles in the United States that 

have the threat or effect of destroying or 

substantially injuring an industry in the 

United States or preventing the 

establishment of such an industry under 

section 337(a)(1)(A)(i) or (ii), include a 

detailed statement as to whether an 

alleged domestic industry exists or is in 

the process of being established (i.e., for 

the latter, facts showing that there is a 

significant likelihood that an industry 

will be established in the future), and 

include a detailed description of the 

domestic industry affected, including 

the relevant operations of any licensees; 

or 

(iii) If the complaint alleges a 

violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act 

of 1930 based on unfair methods of 

competition or unfair acts that have the 

threat or effect of restraining or 

monopolizing trade and commerce in 

the United States under section 

337(a)(1)(A)(iii), include a description of 

the trade and commerce affected. 

(7) Include a description of the 

complainant’s business and its interests 

in the relevant domestic industry or the 

relevant trade and commerce. For every 

intellectual property based complaint 

(regardless of the type of intellectual 

property right involved), include a 

showing that at least one complainant is 

the owner or exclusive licensee of the 

subject intellectual property. 


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(8) If the alleged violation involves an 

unfair method of competition or an 

unfair act other than those listed in 

paragraph (a)(6)(i) of this section: 

(i) Include in the statement of facts 

required by paragraph (a)(2) of this 

section factual allegations that would 

show the existence of the cause of 

action underlying the unfair act or 

method of competition; and 

(ii) State a specific theory, and 

elements thereof, and provide 

supporting factual allegations 

concerning the existence of a threat or 

effect to destroy or substantially injure 

a domestic industry, to prevent the 

establishment of a domestic industry, or 

to restrain or monopolize trade and 

commerce in the United States. The 

information that should ordinarily be 

provided includes the volume and trend 

of production, sales, and inventories of 

the involved domestic article; a 

description of the facilities and number 

and type of workers employed in the 

production of the involved domestic 

article; profit-and-loss information 

covering overall operations and 

operations concerning the involved 

domestic article; pricing information 

with respect to the involved domestic 

article; when available, volume and 

sales of imports; and other pertinent 

data. 

(9) Include, when a complaint is 

based upon the infringement of a valid 

and enforceable U.S. patent— 

(i) The identification of each U.S. 

patent and a certified copy thereof (a 

legible copy of each such patent will 

suffice for each required copy of the 

complaint); 

(ii) The identification of the 

ownership of each involved U.S. patent 

and a certified copy of each assignment 

of each such patent (a legible copy 

thereof will suffice for each required 

copy of the complaint); 

(iii) The identification of each 

licensee under each involved U.S. 

patent; 

(iv) A copy of each license agreement 

(if any) for each involved U.S. patent 

that complainant relies upon to 

establish that it can bring pursuant to 

paragraph (a)(7) of this section the 

complaint or to support its contention 

that a domestic industry as defined in 

section 337(a)(3) exists or is in the 

process of being established as a result 

of the domestic activities of one or more 

licensees; 

(v) When known, a list of each foreign 

patent, each foreign or domestic patent 

application (not already issued as a 

patent), and each foreign or domestic 

patent application that has been denied, 

abandoned or withdrawn, 

corresponding to each involved U.S. 

patent, with an indication of the 

prosecution status of each such patent 

application; 

(vi) A nontechnical description of the 

invention of each involved U.S. patent; 

(vii) A reference to the specific claims 

in each involved U.S. patent that 

allegedly cover the article imported or 

sold by each person named as violating 

section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, or 

the process under which such article 

was produced; 

(viii) A showing that each person 

named as violating section 337 of the 

Tariff Act of 1930 is importing or selling 

the article covered by, or produced 

under the involved process covered by, 

the specific, asserted claims of each 

involved U.S. patent. The complainant 

shall make such showing by appropriate 

allegations, and when practicable, by a 

chart that applies each asserted 

independent claim of each involved 

U.S. patent to a representative involved 

article of each person named as 

violating section 337 of the Tariff Act or 

to the process under which such article 

was produced; 

(ix) A showing that an industry in the 

United States, relating to the articles 

protected by the patent exists or is in 

the process of being established. The 

complainant shall make such showing 

by appropriate allegations, and when 

practicable, by a chart that applies an 

exemplary claim of each involved U.S. 

patent to a representative involved 

domestic article or to the process under 

which such article was produced; 

(x) Drawings, photographs, or other 

visual representations of both the 

involved domestic article or process and 

the involved article of each person 

named as violating section 337 of the 

Tariff Act of 1930, or of the process 

utilized in producing the imported 

article, and, when a chart is furnished 

under paragraphs (a)(9)(viii) and (ix) of 

this section, the parts of such drawings, 

photographs, or other visual 

representations should be labeled so 

that they can be read in conjunction 

with such chart; and 

(xi) The expiration date of each patent 

asserted. 

(10) Include, when a complaint is 

based upon the infringement of a 

federally registered copyright, 

trademark, mask work, or vessel hull 

design— 

(i) The identification of each licensee 

under each involved copyright, 

trademark, mask work, and vessel hull 

design; and 

(ii) A copy of each license agreement 

(if any) that complainant relies upon to 

establish that it can bring pursuant to 

paragraph (a)(7) of this section the 

complaint or to support its contention 

that a domestic industry as defined in 

section 337(a)(3) exists or is in the 

process of being established as a result 

of the domestic activities of one or more 

licensees. 

(11) Contain a request for relief, 

including a statement as to whether a 

limited exclusion order, general 

exclusion order, and/or cease and desist 

orders are being requested, and if 

temporary relief is requested under 

section 337(e) and/or (f) of the Tariff Act 

of 1930, a motion for such relief, which 

shall either accompany the complaint as 

provided in § 210.52(a) or follow the 

complaint as provided in § 210.53(a). 

Complaints requesting issuance of a 

general exclusion order shall include a 

statement of factual allegations that 

would satisfy the requirements of 

section 337(d)(2), including, for 

example: 

(i) Factual allegations showing that a 

general exclusion order is necessary to 

prevent circumvention of a limited 

exclusion order; or 

(ii) Factual allegations showing a 

pattern of violation of section 337 and 

difficulty in identifying the source of 

infringing products. 

(12) Contain a clear statement in plain 

English of the category of products 

accused. For example, the caption of the 

investigation might refer to ‘‘certain 

electronic devices,’’ but the complaint 

would provide a further statement to 

identify the type of products involved in 

plain English such as mobile devices, 

tablets, or computers. 

(b) Submissions of articles as exhibits. 

At the time the complaint is filed, if 

practicable, the complainant shall 

submit both the domestic article and 

exemplary imported articles that are the 

subject of the complaint. 

(c) Additional material to accompany 

each patent-based complaint. There 

shall accompany the submission of each 

complaint based upon the alleged 

unauthorized importation or sale of an 

article covered by, or produced under a 

process covered by, the claims of a valid 

U.S. patent the following: 

(1) One (1) certified copy of the U.S. 

Patent and Trademark Office 

prosecution history for each involved 

U.S. patent, plus three additional copies 

thereof; and 

(2) One (1) copy of the prosecution 

histories of any priority applications for 

each involved U.S. patent. 

(d) Additional material to accompany 

each registered trademark-based 

complaint. There shall accompany the 

submission of each complaint based 

upon the alleged unauthorized 

importation or sale of an article covered 

by a federally registered trademark, one 

certified copy of the Federal registration 


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and three additional copies, and one 

certified copy of the prosecution history 

for each federally registered trademark. 

(e) Additional material to accompany 

each complaint based on a nonfederally registered trademark. There 

shall accompany the submission of each 

complaint based upon the alleged 

unauthorized importation or sale of an 

article covered by a non-federally 

registered trademark the following: 

(1) A detailed and specific description 

of the alleged trademark; 

(2) Information concerning prior 

attempts to register the alleged 

trademark; and 

(3) Information on the status of 

current attempts to register the alleged 

trademark. 

(f) Additional material to accompany 

each copyright-based complaint. There 

shall accompany the submission of each 

complaint based upon the alleged 

unauthorized importation or sale of an 

article covered by a copyright one 

certified copy of the Federal registration 

and three additional copies. 

(g) Additional material to accompany 

each registered mask work-based 

complaint. There shall accompany the 

submission of each complaint based 

upon the alleged unauthorized 

importation or sale of a semiconductor 

chip in a manner that constitutes 

infringement of a federally registered 

mask work, one certified copy of the 

Federal registration and three additional 

copies. 

(h) Additional material to accompany 

each vessel hull design-based 

complaint. There shall accompany the 

submission of each complaint based 

upon the alleged unauthorized 

importation or sale of an article covered 

by a vessel hull design, one certified 

copy of the Federal registration 

(including all deposited drawings, 

photographs, or other pictorial 

representations of the design), and three 

additional copies. 

(i) Initial disclosures. Complainant 

shall serve on each respondent 

represented by counsel who has agreed 

to be bound by the terms of the 

protective order one copy of each 

document submitted with the complaint 

pursuant to paragraphs (c) through (h) of 

this section within five days of service 

of a notice of appearance and agreement 

to be bound by the terms of the 

protective order. 

(j) Duty to supplement complaint. 

Complainant shall supplement the 

complaint prior to institution of an 

investigation if complainant obtains 

information upon the basis of which 

complainant knows or reasonably 

should know that a material legal or 

factual assertion in the complaint is 

false or misleading. 

■ 34. Amend § 210.13 by revising the 

first sentence of paragraph (b) 

introductory text to read as follows: 

§ 210.13 The response. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * In addition to conforming to 

the requirements of §§ 210.4 and 210.5, 

each response shall be under oath and 

signed by respondent or by respondent’s 

duly authorized officer, attorney, or 

corporate representative with the name, 

address, email address, and telephone 

number of the respondent and any such 

officer, attorney, or corporate 

representative given on the first page of 

the response. * * * 

* * * * * 

■ 35. Amend § 210.14 by: 

■ a. Revising the section heading; 

■ b. Adding introductory text; and 

■ c. Revising paragraphs (a), (b)(1), and 

(g). 

The revisions and addition read as 

follows: 

§ 210.14 Amendments to pleadings and 

notice; supplemental submissions; 

counterclaims; severance and 

consolidation of investigations. 

Amended complaints, exhibits, and 

supplements thereto, filed under this 

section shall be filed with the Secretary 

pursuant to § 210.4. 

(a) Preinstitution amendments. The 

complaint may be amended at any time 

prior to the institution of the 

investigation. Any amendment that 

introduces an additional unfair act or 

additional respondent shall be in the 

form of an amended complaint that 

complies with the requirements of 

§ 210.12(a). If, prior to institution, the 

complainant seeks to amend a 

complaint to add a respondent or to 

assert an additional unfair act not in the 

original complaint, including asserting a 

new patent or patent claim, then the 

complaint shall be treated as if it had 

been filed on the date the amendment 

is filed for purposes of §§ 210.8(b) and 

(c), 210.9, and 210.10(a). 

(b) * * * 

(1) After an investigation has been 

instituted, the complaint or notice of 

investigation may be amended only by 

leave of the Commission for good cause 

shown and upon such conditions as are 

necessary to avoid prejudicing the 

public interest and the rights of the 

parties to the investigation. A motion for 

amendment must be made to the 

presiding administrative law judge. 

Complainant shall serve one (1) copy of 

any motion to amend the complaint and 

notice of investigation to name an 

additional respondent after institution 

on the proposed respondent and on all 

other respondents. If the proposed 

amendment of the complaint would 

introduce an additional unfair act or an 

additional respondent, the motion shall 

be accompanied by a proposed amended 

complaint that complies with the 

requirements of § 210.12(a). If the 

proposed amendment of the complaint 

would require amending the notice of 

investigation, the presiding 

administrative law judge may grant the 

motion only by filing with the 

Commission an initial determination. 

All other dispositions of such motions 

shall be by order. Respondents shall 

have ten (10) calendar days from the 

date of service of an order granting the 

motion or, in cases where the 

amendment requires amending the 

notice of investigation, a Commission 

determination affirming or not 

reviewing an initial determination 

granting the motion, to file a written 

response to the amended complaint 

and/or notice of investigation. The 

contents of such response shall be 

governed by § 210.13(b). 

(i) If the amended complaint and 

notice of investigation name an 

additional respondent, the Commission 

shall serve one (1) copy of the amended 

complaint and notice of investigation on 

the additional respondent and the 

embassies of the relevant foreign 

countries, in the manner specified in 

§ 201.16(b) of this chapter, after a 

Commission determination affirming or 

not reviewing an initial determination 

granting the motion. 

(ii) By close of business the next 

business day following official receipt of 

the amended complaint, Complainant 

must deliver copies to the Secretary for 

service by the Secretary as follows: 

(A) For each proposed additional 

respondent, one (1) true paper copy of 

the nonconfidential version of the 

amended complaint and one (1) true 

paper copy of the confidential version of 

the amended complaint, if any, along 

with one (1) true copy of the 

nonconfidential exhibits and one (1) 

true copy of the confidential exhibits in 

electronic form on a CD ROM, DVD, or 

other portable electronic media 

approved by the Secretary; and 

(B) For the government of the foreign 

country in which each proposed 

respondent is located as indicated in the 

amended complaint, one (1) true paper 

copy of the nonconfidential version of 

the complaint shall be filed. 

(iii) Unless otherwise ordered in the 

notice of investigation or by the 

presiding administrative law judge, an 

additional respondent named in the 

amended complaint and notice of 

investigation shall have twenty (20) 


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days from the date of service of the 

amended complaint and notice of 

investigation to file a written response 

in the manner specified in § 210.13. 

* * * * * 

(g) Consolidation of investigations. 

The Commission may consolidate two 

or more investigations. If the 

investigations are currently before the 

same presiding administrative law 

judge, the administrative law judge may 

consolidate the investigations. If the 

investigations are not currently before 

the same presiding administrative law 

judge, the chief administrative law 

judge may consolidate the investigations 

and assign an administrative law judge 

to preside over the consolidated 

investigations. The investigation 

number in the caption of the 

consolidated investigation will include 

the investigation numbers of the 

investigations being consolidated. The 

investigation number in which the 

matter will be proceeding (the lead 

investigation) will be the first 

investigation number named in the 

consolidated caption. 

* * * * * 

Subpart D—Motions 

■ 36. Amend § 210.15 by revising 

paragraphs (a)(2) and (c) to read as 

follows: 

§ 210.15 Motions. 

(a) * * * 

(2) When an investigation or related 

proceeding is before the Commission, 

all motions shall be addressed to the 

Chair of the Commission. All such 

motions shall be filed with the Secretary 

and shall be served upon each party. 

Motions may not be filed with the 

Commission during preinstitution 

proceedings except for motions for 

temporary relief pursuant to § 210.53. 

* * * * * 

(c) Responses to motions. Within ten 

(10) days after service of any written 

motions, or within such longer or 

shorter time as may be designated by the 

administrative law judge or the 

Commission, a nonmoving party, or in 

the instance of a motion to amend the 

complaint or notice of investigation to 

name an additional respondent after 

institution, the proposed respondent, 

shall respond or may be deemed to have 

consented to the granting of the relief 

asked for in the motion. The moving 

party shall have no right to reply, except 

as permitted by the administrative law 

judge or the Commission. 

* * * * * 

■ 37. Amend § 210.16 by revising 

paragraphs (b)(1)(i) and (b)(2) and (3) to 

read as follows: 

§ 210.16 Default. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(1)(i) If a respondent has failed to 

respond or appear in the manner 

described in paragraph (a)(1) of this 

section, a party may file a motion for, 

or the administrative law judge may 

issue sua sponte, an order directing the 

respondent to show cause why it should 

not be found in default. 

* * * * * 

(2) Any party may file a motion for 

issuance of, or the administrative law 

judge may issue sua sponte, an initial 

determination finding a party in default 

for abuse of process under § 210.4(c) or 

failure to make or cooperate in 

discovery under § 210.33. A motion for 

a finding of default as a sanction for 

abuse of process or failure to make or 

cooperate in discovery shall be granted 

by initial determination or denied by 

order. 

(3)(i) A proposed respondent may file 

a notice of intent to default under this 

section with the administrative law 

judge at any time before the issuance of 

the final initial determination. 

(ii) Upon the filing of a notice of 

intent to default under paragraph 

(b)(3)(i) of this section, the 

administrative law judge shall issue an 

initial determination finding the 

respondent in default without first 

issuing the show-cause order of 

paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section. Such 

default will be treated in the same 

manner as any other default under this 

section. 

* * * * * 

§ 210.17 [Amended] 

■ 38. Amend § 210.17 by removing 

paragraph (h) and designating the 

undesignated paragraph at the end of 

the section as paragraph (h). 

■ 39. Amend § 210.18 by revising 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 210.18 Summary determinations. 

* * * * * 

(b) Opposing affidavits; oral 

argument; time and basis for 

determination. Any nonmoving party 

may file opposing affidavits within ten 

(10) days after service of the motion for 

summary determination. At the 

discretion of the administrative law 

judge or at the request of any party, the 

administrative law judge may set the 

matter for oral argument and call for the 

submission of briefs or memoranda. The 

determination sought by the moving 

party shall be rendered if pleadings and 

any depositions, answers to 

interrogatories, and admissions on file, 

together with the affidavits, if any, show 

that there is no genuine issue as to any 

material fact and that the moving party 

is entitled to a summary determination 

as a matter of law. 

* * * * * 

■ 40. Amend § 210.20 by revising 

paragraph (a) to read as follows: 

§ 210.20 Declassification of confidential 

information. 

(a) Any party may move to declassify 

documents (or portions thereof) that 

have been designated confidential by 

the submitter but that do not satisfy the 

confidentiality criteria set forth in 

§ 201.6(a) of this chapter. All such 

motions, whether brought at any time 

during the investigation or after 

conclusion of the investigation shall be 

addressed to and ruled upon by the 

presiding administrative law judge, or if 

the investigation is not before a 

presiding administrative law judge, by 

the chief administrative law judge or 

such administrative law judge as the 

chief administrative law judge may 

designate. 

* * * * * 

■ 41. Amend § 210.25 by revising 

paragraphs (d) and (f) to read as follows: 

§ 210.25 Sanctions. 

* * * * * 

(d) If an administrative law judge’s 

order concerning sanctions is issued 

before the initial determination 

concerning violation of section 337 of 

the Tariff Act of 1930 or termination of 

the investigation, it may be appealed 

under § 210.24(b)(1) with leave from the 

administrative law judge, if the 

requirements of that section are 

satisfied. If the order is issued 

concurrently with the initial 

determination, or if the administrative 

law judge denies leave to appeal a 

previously issued order under 

§ 210.24(b)(1), the order may be 

appealed by filing a petition meeting the 

requirements of § 210.43(b) within the 

same time period specified in 

§ 210.43(a) in which a petition for 

review of the initial determination 

terminating the investigation may be 

filed. The Commission will determine 

whether to adopt the order after 

disposition of the initial determination 

concerning violation of section 337 or 

termination of the investigation. 

* * * * * 

(f) If a motion for sanctions is filed 

with the administrative law judge 

during an investigation, the 

administrative law judge may defer 


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adjudication of the motion until after 

the administrative law judge has issued 

a final initial determination concerning 

violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act 

of 1930 or termination of investigation. 

If the administrative law judge defers 

adjudication in such a manner, the 

administrative law judge’s ruling on the 

motion for sanctions must be in the 

form of a recommended determination 

and shall be issued no later than thirty 

(30) days after issuance of the 

Commission’s final determination on 

violation of section 337 or termination 

of the investigation. Parties may submit 

comments on the recommended 

determination within ten (10) days from 

the service of the recommended 

determination. Parties may submit 

responses thereto within five (5) 

business days from service of any 

comments. 

Subpart E—Discovery and Compulsory 

Process 

■ 42. Amend § 210.27 by: 

■ a. Revising and republishing 

paragraph (b); 

■ b. Revising paragraph (e)(2)(ii); and 

■ c. Redesignating paragraph (e)(5)(iii) 

as paragraph (e)(5)(ii)(C). 

The revisions read as follows: 

§ 210.27 General provisions governing 

discovery. 

* * * * * 

(b) Scope of discovery. Regarding the 

scope of discovery for the temporary 

relief phase of an investigation, see 

§ 210.61 and the limitations of 

paragraph (d) of this section. For the 

permanent relief phase of an 

investigation, unless otherwise ordered 

by the administrative law judge, a party 

may obtain discovery, subject to the 

limitations of paragraph (d) of this 

section, regarding any matter, not 

privileged, that is proportional to the 

needs of the investigation and relevant 

to the following: 

(1) The claim or defense of the party 

seeking discovery or to the claim or 

defense of any other party, including the 

existence, description, nature, custody, 

condition, and location of any books, 

documents, or other tangible things; 

(2) The identity and location of 

persons having knowledge of any 

discoverable matter; 

(3) The appropriate remedy for a 

violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act 

of 1930 (see § 210.42(a)(1)(ii)(A)); or 

(4) The appropriate bond for the 

respondents, under section 337(j)(3) of 

the Tariff Act of 1930, during 

Presidential review of the remedial 

order (if any) issued by the Commission 

(see § 210.42(a)(1)(ii)(B)). 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(ii) If there exists a disagreement 

about the basis for the claim of privilege 

or protection as attorney work product, 

within seven (7) days of service of the 

notice, the claimant and the parties 

shall meet and confer in good faith to 

resolve the claim of privilege or 

protection. If, after meeting and 

conferring there continues to be a 

disagreement, within five (5) days after 

the conference, a party may file a 

motion to compel the production of the 

document and may, in the motion to 

compel, use a description of the 

document from the notice produced 

under this paragraph (e)(2). In 

connection with the motion to compel, 

the party may submit the document in 

camera for consideration by the 

administrative law judge. The person 

that produced the document must 

preserve the document until the claim 

of privilege or protection is resolved. 

* * * * * 

■ 43. Amend § 210.28 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraph (a); 

■ b. Redesignating paragraphs (b) 

through (i) as paragraphs (c) through (j); 

■ c. Adding new paragraph (b); and 

■ d. Revising newly redesignated 

paragraph (d), the last sentence of newly 

redesignated paragraph (e), and newly 

redesignated paragraphs (g) and (i)(4). 

The revisions and addition read as 

follows: 

§ 210.28 Depositions. 

(a) When depositions may be taken. 

Following publication in the Federal 

Register of a Commission notice 

instituting the investigation, any party 

may take the testimony of any person, 

including a party, by deposition upon 

oral examination or written questions. 

The presiding administrative law judge 

will determine the permissible dates or 

deadlines for taking such depositions. 

Unless stipulated otherwise by the 

parties, the complainants as a group and 

the respondents as a group may each 

take a maximum of twenty (20) fact 

depositions. If the Office of Unfair 

Import Investigations is a party, the 

Commission investigative attorney may 

take a maximum of ten (10) fact 

depositions and is permitted to 

participate in all depositions taken by 

any parties in the investigation. The 

presiding administrative law judge may 

set the maximum number of depositions 

permitted to be taken by an intervenor. 

Depositions of party witnesses and nonparty witnesses alike shall count 

towards the limits on fact depositions. 

A notice for a corporation to designate 

deponents shall count as only one 

deposition and shall include all 

corporate representatives so designated 

to respond. The presiding 

administrative law judge may increase 

or limit the number of depositions on 

written motion for good cause shown. 

(b) Duration. Unless otherwise 

ordered by the presiding administrative 

law judge or stipulated by the parties, 

including, when participating in the 

investigation, the Commission 

investigative attorney, a deposition is 

limited to one (1) day of seven (7) hours. 

The presiding administrative law judge 

must allow additional time, in a manner 

consistent with § 210.27(b) through (d), 

if needed to fairly examine the deponent 

or if the deponent, another person, or 

any other circumstance impedes or 

delays the examination. 

* * * * * 

(d) Notice of examination. A party 

desiring to take the deposition of a 

person shall give notice in writing to 

every other party to the investigation. 

The administrative law judge shall 

determine the appropriate period for 

providing such notice. A party upon 

whom a notice of deposition is served 

may make objections to a notice of 

deposition and state the reasons therefor 

within ten (10) days of service of the 

notice of deposition. The notice shall 

state the time and place for taking the 

deposition and the name and address of 

each person to be examined, if known, 

and, if the name is not known, a general 

description sufficient to identify the 

person or the particular class or group 

to which the person belongs. A notice 

may provide for the taking of testimony 

by telephone or videoconference, but 

the administrative law judge may, on 

motion of any party, require that the 

deposition be taken in the presence of 

the deponent. The parties may stipulate 

in writing, or the administrative law 

judge may upon motion order, that the 

testimony at a deposition be recorded by 

other than stenographic means. If a 

subpoena duces tecum is to be served 

on the person to be examined, the 

designation of the materials to be 

produced as set forth in the subpoena 

shall be attached to or included in the 

notice. 

(e) * * * See paragraph (j) of this 

section concerning the effect of errors 

and irregularities in depositions. 

* * * * * 

(g) Service of deposition transcripts 

on the Commission staff. The party 

taking the deposition shall promptly 

serve one copy of the deposition 

transcript and exhibits on the 

Commission investigative attorney. 

* * * * * 

(i) * * * 


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(4) If only part of a deposition is 

offered in evidence by a party, an 

adverse party may require the offering 

party to introduce any other part that 

ought in fairness to be considered with 

the part introduced, and any party may 

introduce any other parts. 

* * * * * 

■ 44. Amend § 210.30 by revising 

paragraphs (a)(1) and (b)(2) to read as 

follows: 

§ 210.30 Requests for production of 

documents and things and entry upon land. 

(a) * * * 

(1) To produce and permit the party 

making the request, or someone acting 

on that party’s behalf, to inspect and 

copy any designated documents 

(including writings, drawings, graphs, 

charts, photographs, and other data 

compilations from which information 

can be obtained), or to inspect and copy, 

test, or sample any tangible things that 

are in the possession, custody, or 

control of the party upon whom the 

request is served; or 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(2) The party upon whom the request 

is served shall serve a written response 

within ten (10) days or the time 

specified by the administrative law 

judge. The response shall state, with 

respect to each item or category, that 

inspection and related activities will be 

permitted as requested, unless the 

request is objected to, in which event 

the reasons for objection shall be stated. 

An objection must state whether any 

responsive materials are being withheld 

on the basis of that objection. An 

objection to part of a request must 

specify the part and permit inspection 

of the rest. The party submitting the 

request may move for an order under 

§ 210.33(a) with respect to any objection 

to or other failure to respond to the 

request or any part thereof, or any 

failure to permit inspection as 

requested. A party who produces 

documents for inspection shall produce 

them as they are kept in the usual 

course of business or shall organize and 

label them to correspond to the 

categories in the request. 

* * * * * 

■ 45. Amend § 210.31 by revising 

paragraphs (b) through (d) to read as 

follows: 

§ 210.31 Requests for admission. 

* * * * * 

(b) Answers and objections to requests 

for admissions. A party answering a 

request for admission shall repeat the 

request for admission immediately 

preceding the answer to the request. The 

matter may be deemed admitted unless, 

within ten (10) days or the period 

specified by the administrative law 

judge, the party to whom the request is 

directed serves upon the party 

requesting the admission a sworn 

written answer or objection addressed to 

the matter. If objection is made, the 

reason therefor shall be stated. The 

answer shall specifically deny the 

matter or set forth in detail the reasons 

why the answering party cannot 

truthfully admit or deny the matter. A 

denial shall fairly meet the substance of 

the requested admission, and when 

good faith requires that a party qualify 

an answer or deny only a part of the 

matter as to which an admission is 

requested, the party shall specify so 

much of it as is true and qualify or deny 

the remainder. An answering party may 

not give lack of information or 

knowledge as a reason for failure to 

admit or deny unless the party has made 

reasonable inquiry and states that the 

information known to or readily 

obtainable by that party is insufficient to 

enable the party to admit or deny. A 

party who considers that a matter as to 

which an admission has been requested 

presents a genuine issue for a hearing 

may not object to the request on that 

ground alone; the party may deny the 

matter or set forth reasons why it cannot 

be admitted or denied. 

(c) Sufficiency of answers. The party 

who has requested the admissions may 

move to determine the sufficiency of the 

answers or objections. Unless the 

objecting party sustains the burden of 

showing that the objection is justified, 

the administrative law judge shall order 

that an answer be served. If the 

administrative law judge determines 

that an answer does not comply with 

the requirements of this section, the 

administrative law judge may order 

either that the matter is admitted or that 

an amended answer be served. The 

administrative law judge may, in lieu of 

these orders, determine that final 

disposition of the request be made at a 

prehearing conference or at a designated 

time prior to a hearing under this part. 

(d) Effect of admissions; withdrawal 

or amendment of admission. Any matter 

admitted under this section may be 

conclusively established unless the 

administrative law judge on motion 

permits withdrawal or amendment of 

the admission. The administrative law 

judge may permit withdrawal or 

amendment when the presentation of 

the issues of the investigation will be 

subserved thereby and the party who 

obtained the admission fails to satisfy 

the administrative law judge that 

withdrawal or amendment will 

prejudice that party in maintaining its 

position on the issue of the 

investigation. Any admission made by a 

party under this section is for the 

purpose of the pending investigation 

and any related proceeding as defined 

in § 210.3. 

■ 46. Amend § 210.32 by revising 

paragraphs (a)(3) and (c)(2) to read as 

follows: 

§ 210.32 Subpoenas. 

(a) * * * 

(3) The administrative law judge shall 

rule on all applications filed under 

paragraph (a)(1) or (2) of this section 

and may issue subpoenas when 

warranted. The administrative law judge 

shall also rule on any motion seeking 

foreign judicial assistance to obtain 

testimony or documents outside the 

United States. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(2) Ruling. Such applications shall be 

ruled upon by the administrative law 

judge, who may issue such subpoenas 

when warranted. To the extent that the 

motion is granted, the administrative 

law judge shall provide such terms and 

conditions for the production of the 

material, the disclosure of the 

information, or the appearance of the 

official or employee as may appear 

necessary and appropriate for the 

protection of the public interest. 

* * * * * 

■ 47. Amend § 210.33 by revising 

paragraphs (b) introductory text and 

(b)(3) and (6) to read as follows: 

§ 210.33 Failure to make or cooperate in 

discovery; sanctions. 

* * * * * 

(b) Non-monetary sanctions for failure 

to comply with an order compelling 

discovery. The administrative law judge 

may issue, based on a party’s motion or 

sua sponte, non-monetary sanctions for 

failure to comply with an order 

compelling discovery. Such failure to 

comply may include failure of a party, 

or an officer or corporate representative 

of a party, to comply with an oral or 

written order including, but not limited 

to, an order for the taking of a 

deposition or the production of 

documents, an order to answer 

interrogatories, an order issued pursuant 

to a request for admissions, or an order 

to comply with a subpoena. Any such 

sanction may be ordered in the course 

of the investigation or concurrently with 

the administrative law judge’s final 

initial determination on violation. The 

administrative law judge may take such 

action in regard to a failure to comply 

with an order compelling discovery as 


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is just, including, but not limited to the 

following: 

* * * * * 

(3) Rule that the party may not 

introduce into evidence or otherwise 

rely upon testimony by the party, 

officer, or corporate representative, or 

documents, or other material in support 

of the party’s position in the 

investigation; 

* * * * * 

(6) Order any other non-monetary 

sanction available under Rule 37(b) of 

the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 

* * * * * 

■ 48. Amend § 210.34 by revising 

paragraphs (a) introductory text, (c)(2), 

(d) introductory text, and (d)(5) and 

redesignating ‘‘Note to paragraph (d)’’ as 

‘‘Note 1 to paragraph (d)’’. 

The revisions read as follows: 

§ 210.34 Protective orders; reporting 

requirement; sanctions and other actions. 

(a) Issuance of protective order. Upon 

motion by a party or by the person from 

whom discovery is sought or by the 

administrative law judge sua sponte, 

and for good cause shown, the 

administrative law judge may make any 

order that may appear necessary and 

appropriate for the protection of the 

public interest or that justice requires to 

protect a party or person from 

annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, 

or undue burden or expense, including 

one or more of the following: 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(2) If the breach occurs while the 

investigation is before an administrative 

law judge, any determination on 

sanctions of the type enumerated in 

paragraphs (c)(3)(i) through (iv) of this 

section shall be in the form of a 

recommended determination. The 

Commission may then consider both the 

recommended determination and any 

related orders in making a 

determination on sanctions. When the 

motion is addressed to the 

administrative law judge for sanctions 

of the type enumerated in paragraph 

(c)(3)(v) of this section, the 

administrative law judge shall grant or 

deny a motion by issuing an order. 

* * * * * 

(d) Reporting requirement. Each 

person who is subject to a protective 

order issued pursuant to paragraph (a) 

of this section shall report in writing to 

the Commission immediately upon 

learning that confidential business 

information disclosed to that person 

pursuant to the protective order is the 

subject of: 

* * * * * 

(5) Any other written request, if the 

request or order seeks disclosure, by 

that person or any other person, of the 

subject confidential business 

information to a person who is not, or 

may not be, permitted access to that 

information pursuant to either a 

Commission protective order or 

§ 210.5(b). 

* * * * * 

Subpart F—Prehearing Conferences 

and Hearings 

■ 49. Amend § 210.35 by revising 

paragraph (a) introductory text to read 

as follows: 

§ 210.35 Prehearing conferences. 

(a) When appropriate. The 

administrative law judge in any 

investigation may direct counsel or 

other representatives for all parties to 

meet with the administrative law judge 

for one or more conferences to consider 

any or all of the following: 

* * * * * 

■ 50. Amend § 210.37 by revising 

paragraph (g) to read as follows: 

§ 210.37 Evidence. 

* * * * * 

(g) Excluded evidence. When an 

objection to a question propounded to a 

witness is sustained, the examining 

party may make a specific offer of what 

that party expects to prove by the 

answer of the witness, or the 

administrative law judge may as a 

matter of discretion receive and report 

the evidence in full. Rejected exhibits, 

adequately marked for identification, 

shall be retained with the record so as 

to be available for consideration by any 

reviewing authority. 

■ 51. Amend § 210.38 by revising 

paragraph (d) to read as follows: 

§ 210.38 Record. 

* * * * * 

(d) Certification of record. Any record 

created, including all physical exhibits 

entered into evidence or such 

photographic reproductions thereof as 

the administrative law judge approves, 

shall be certified to the Commission by 

the administrative law judge at the time 

the administrative law judge files an 

initial determination, or a recommended 

determination, or at such earlier time as 

the Commission may order. 

■ 52. Revise § 210.40 to read as follows: 

§ 210.40 Briefs and notices of 

supplemental authority. 

(a) At the time a motion for summary 

determination under § 210.18(a) or a 

motion for termination under 

§ 210.21(a) is made, or when it is found 

that a party is in default under § 210.16, 

or at the close of the reception of 

evidence in any hearing held pursuant 

to this part (except as provided in 

§ 210.63), or within a reasonable time 

thereafter fixed by the administrative 

law judge, any party may file briefs in 

support of that party’s positions, in the 

form specified by the administrative law 

judge, for the administrative law judge’s 

consideration. Such briefs shall be in 

writing, shall be served upon all parties 

in accordance with § 210.4(g), and shall 

contain adequate references to the 

record and the authorities on which the 

submitter is relying. 

(b) If pertinent and significant 

authorities come to a party’s attention 

after the party’s brief has been filed but 

before the final initial determination has 

issued, the party may promptly advise 

the administrative law judge by filing a 

written notice of supplemental 

authority, no more than two (2) doublespaced pages in length. The notice must 

be served on all other parties and must 

describe the relevance of the 

supplemental authority, with reference 

to specific pages in either the party’s 

briefs or the transcript of the evidentiary 

hearing. Any other party may file a 

response of no more than two (2) 

double-spaced pages within five (5) 

business days after the date of service of 

the notice of supplemental authority. 

Subpart G—Determinations and 

Actions Taken 

■ 53. Amend § 210.42 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraphs (c)(1) and 

(h)(3); 

■ b. Removing paragraph (h)(5); 

■ c. Redesignating paragraph (h)(6) as 

paragraph (h)(5) and revising it; and 

■ d. Adding new paragraph (h)(6). 

The revisions and addition read as 

follows: 

§ 210.42 Initial determinations. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(1) The administrative law judge shall 

grant the following types of motions by 

issuing an initial determination or shall 

deny them by issuing an order: a motion 

to amend the complaint or notice of 

investigation pursuant to § 210.14(b); a 

motion for a finding of default pursuant 

to §§ 210.16 and 210.17; a motion for 

summary determination pursuant to 

§ 210.18; a motion for intervention 

pursuant to § 210.19; a motion for 

termination pursuant to § 210.21; a 

motion to suspend an investigation 

pursuant to § 210.23; or a motion to set 

a target date for an original investigation 

exceeding 16 months pursuant to 

§ 210.51(a)(1); or a motion to set a target 


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date for an enforcement proceeding 

exceeding twelve (12) months pursuant 

to § 210.51(a)(2). 

* * * * * 

(h) * * * 

(3) An initial determination filed 

pursuant to paragraph (c)(1) of this 

section shall become the determination 

of the Commission thirty (30) days after 

the date of service of the initial 

determination, except as provided for in 

paragraph (h)(5) of this section, unless 

the Commission, within thirty (30) days 

after the date of such service shall have 

ordered review of the initial 

determination or certain issues therein 

or by order has changed the effective 

date of the initial determination. 

* * * * * 

(5) The disposition of an initial 

determination filed pursuant to 

paragraph (c)(1) of this section which 

grants a motion for summary 

determination pursuant to § 210.18 that 

would terminate the investigation in its 

entirety if it were to become the 

Commission’s final determination, shall 

become the final determination of the 

Commission forty-five (45) days after 

the date of service of the initial 

determination, unless the Commission 

has ordered review of the initial 

determination or certain issues therein, 

or by order has changed the effective 

date of the initial determination. 

(6) The disposition of an initial 

determination filed pursuant to 

paragraph (c)(2) of this section, 

concerning possible forfeiture or return 

of a respondent’s bonds as governed by 

§ 210.50(d) or possible forfeiture or 

return of a complainant’s temporary 

relief bond as governed § 210.70(c), 

shall become the final determination of 

the Commission forty-five (45) days 

after the date of service of the initial 

determination, unless the Commission 

has ordered review of the initial 

determination or certain issues therein, 

or by order has changed the effective 

date of the initial determination. 

* * * * * 

■ 54. Amend § 210.43 by revising 

paragraph (a)(1) to read as follows: 

§ 210.43 Petitions for review of initial 

determinations on matters other than 

temporary relief. 

(a) * * * 

(1) Except as provided in paragraph 

(a)(2) of this section, any party to an 

investigation may request Commission 

review of an initial determination 

issued under § 210.42(a) or (c), 

§ 210.50(d)(3), § 210.70(c), or 

§ 210.75(a)(3) by filing a petition with 

the Secretary. A petition for review of 

an initial determination issued under 

§ 210.42(a)(1) and a petition for review 

of any sanctions order issued under 

§ 210.25(d) must be filed within twelve 

(12) days after service of the initial 

determination or order. A petition for 

review of an initial determination 

issued under § 210.42(a)(3) must be filed 

within five (5) business days after 

service of the initial determination. A 

petition for review of an initial 

determination issued under § 210.42(c) 

that terminates the investigation in its 

entirety on summary determination, or 

an initial determination issued under 

§ 210.42(a)(2), § 210.50(d)(3), 

§ 210.70(c), or § 210.75(a)(3), must be 

filed within ten (10) days after service 

of the initial determination. Petitions for 

review of all other initial determinations 

under § 210.42(c) must be filed within 

five (5) business days after service of the 

initial determination. A petition for 

review of an initial determination 

issued under § 210.50(d)(3) or 

§ 210.70(c) must be filed within ten (10) 

days after service of the initial 

determination. 

* * * * * 

■ 55. Amend § 210.45 by revising 

paragraph (c) to read as follows: 

§ 210.45 Review of initial determinations 

on matters other than temporary relief. 

* * * * * 

(c) Determination on review. On 

review, the Commission may affirm, 

reverse, modify, vacate, or remand for 

further proceedings, in whole or in part, 

the initial determination of the 

administrative law judge. In addition, 

the Commission may take no position 

on specific issues or portions of the 

initial determination of the 

administrative law judge. The 

Commission also may make any 

findings or conclusions that in its 

judgment are proper based on the record 

in the proceeding. If the Commission’s 

determination on review terminates the 

investigation in its entirety, a notice will 

be published in the Federal Register. 

■ 56. Revise § 210.48 to read as follows: 

§ 210.48 Disposition of petitions for 

reconsideration. 

The Commission may affirm, reverse, 

modify, or vacate its determination, in 

whole or part, including any action 

ordered by it to be taken thereunder. 

When appropriate, the Commission may 

remand to the administrative law judge 

via an order, specifying any necessary 

additional findings, determinations, or 

recommendations. 

■ 57. Amend § 210.49 by revising 

paragraph (d) to read as follows: 

§ 210.49 Implementation of Commission 

action. 

* * * * * 

(d) Finality of affirmative Commission 

action. If the President does not 

disapprove the Commission’s action 

within a 60-day period beginning the 

day after a copy of the Commission’s 

action is delivered to the President, or 

if the President notifies the Commission 

before the close of the 60-day period 

that the President approves the 

Commission’s action, such action shall 

become final the day after the close of 

the 60-day period or the day the 

President notifies the Commission of the 

President’s approval, as the case may be. 

* * * * * 

■ 58. Amend § 210.51 by revising 

paragraphs (a) introductory text and 

(a)(2) to read as follows: 

§ 210.51 Period for concluding 

investigation. 

(a) Permanent relief. Within forty-five 

(45) days after institution of an original 

investigation as to whether there is a 

violation of section 337 or an 

investigation that is an enforcement 

proceeding, the administrative law 

judge shall issue an order setting a target 

date for completion of the investigation. 

After the target date has been set, it can 

be modified by the administrative law 

judge for good cause shown before the 

investigation is certified to the 

Commission or by the Commission after 

the investigation is certified to the 

Commission. 

* * * * * 

(2) Enforcement proceedings. If the 

target date does not exceed twelve (12) 

months from the date of institution of 

the enforcement proceeding, the order 

of the administrative law judge shall be 

final and not subject to interlocutory 

review. If the target date exceeds twelve 

(12) months, the order of the 

administrative law judge shall 

constitute an initial determination. Any 

extension of the target date beyond 

twelve (12) months shall be by initial 

determination. 

* * * * * 

Subpart H—Temporary Relief 

■ 59. Revise § 210.63 to read as follows: 

§ 210.63 Briefs. 

The administrative law judge shall 

determine whether and, if so, to what 

extent the parties shall be permitted to 

file briefs under § 210.40 concerning the 

issues involved in adjudication of the 

motion for temporary relief. 

■ 60. Revise § 210.65 to read as follows: 


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§ 210.65 Certification of the record. 

When the administrative law judge 

issues an initial determination 

concerning temporary relief pursuant to 

§ 210.66(a), the administrative law judge 

shall also certify to the Commission the 

record upon which the initial 

determination is based. 

■ 61. Amend § 210.66 by revising 

paragraphs (c) and (f) to read as follows: 

§ 210.66 Initial determination concerning 

temporary relief; Commission action 

thereon. 

* * * * * 

(c) The Commission will not modify, 

reverse, or vacate an initial 

determination concerning temporary 

relief unless the Commission finds that 

a finding of material fact is clearly 

erroneous, that the initial determination 

contains an error of law, or that there is 

a policy matter warranting discussion 

by the Commission. All parties may file 

written comments concerning any clear 

error of material fact, error of law, or 

policy matter warranting such action by 

the Commission. Such comments must 

be limited to thirty-five (35) pages in an 

ordinary investigation and forty-five 

(45) pages in a ‘‘more complicated’’ 

investigation. The comments must be 

filed no later than seven (7) calendar 

days after issuance of the initial 

determination in an ordinary case and 

ten (10) calendar days after issuance of 

the initial determination in a ‘‘more 

complicated’’ investigation. In 

computing the aforesaid 7-day and 10- 

day deadlines, intermediary Saturdays, 

Sundays, and Federal holidays shall be 

included. If the initial determination is 

issued on a Friday, however, the filing 

deadline for comments shall be 

measured from the first business day 

after issuance. If the last day of the filing 

period is a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal 

holiday as defined in § 201.14(a) of this 

chapter, the filing deadline shall be 

extended to the next business day. The 

parties shall serve their comments on 

other parties by messenger, overnight 

delivery, or equivalent means. 

* * * * * 

(f) If the Commission determines to 

modify, reverse, or vacate the initial 

determination, the Commission will 

issue a notice and, if appropriate, a 

Commission opinion. If the Commission 

does not modify, reverse, or vacate the 

administrative law judge’s initial 

determination within the time provided 

under paragraph (b) of this section, the 

initial determination will automatically 

become the determination of the 

Commission. Notice of the 

Commission’s determination concerning 

the initial determination will be issued 

on the statutory deadline for 

determining whether to grant temporary 

relief, or as soon as possible thereafter, 

and will be served on the parties. Notice 

of the determination will be published 

in the Federal Register if the 

Commission’s disposition of the initial 

determination has resulted in a 

determination that there is reason to 

believe that section 337 has been 

violated and a temporary remedial order 

is to be issued. If the Commission 

determines (either by reversing or 

modifying the administrative law 

judge’s initial determination, or by 

adopting the initial determination) that 

the complainant must post a bond as a 

prerequisite to the issuance of 

temporary relief, the Commission may 

issue a supplemental notice setting forth 

conditions for the bond if any (in 

addition to those outlined in the initial 

determination) and the deadline for 

filing the bond with the Commission. 

■ 62. Amend § 210.67 by revising 

paragraph (a) to read as follows: 

§ 210.67 Remedy, the public interest, and 

bonding. 

* * * * * 

(a) While the motion for temporary 

relief is before the administrative law 

judge, the administrative law judge may 

compel discovery on matters relating to 

remedy, the public interest and bonding 

(as provided in § 210.61). The 

administrative law judge also is 

authorized to make findings pertaining 

to the public interest, as provided in 

§ 210.66(a). Such findings may be 

superseded, however, by Commission 

findings on that issue as provided in 

paragraph (c) of this section. 

* * * * * 

Subpart I—Enforcement Procedures 

and Advisory Opinions 

■ 63. Amend § 210.75 by revising 

paragraphs (a)(1) introductory text and 

(a)(1)(i)(B) and (C) and adding 

paragraphs (a)(1)(i)(D) and (a)(1)(v) to 

read as follows: 

§ 210.75 Proceedings to enforce exclusion 

orders, cease and desist orders, consent 

orders, and other Commission orders. 

(a) * * * 

(1) The Commission may institute an 

enforcement proceeding upon the filing 

of an enforcement complaint pursuant 

to §§ 210.4 and 210.8(a) by the 

complainant in the original 

investigation or the complainant’s 

successor in interest, by the Office of 

Unfair Import Investigations, or by the 

Commission. Notwithstanding 

§ 210.8(a)(1)(ii), no paper copies of 

enforcement complaints or exhibits 

thereto are required for the government 

of the foreign country in which each 

alleged violator is located. If a 

proceeding is instituted, the 

Commission shall publish in the 

Federal Register a notice of institution 

and shall serve copies of the 

nonconfidential version the 

enforcement complaint, the 

nonconfidential exhibits, and the notice 

of investigation upon each alleged 

violator. Within fifteen (15) days after 

the date of service of such a complaint, 

the named respondent shall file a 

response to it. 

(i) * * * 

(B) The filing party requests that the 

Commission postpone the 

determination on whether to institute an 

investigation; 

(C) The filing party withdraws the 

complaint; or 

(D) The complaint or any exhibits or 

attachments thereto contain excessive 

designations of confidentiality that are 

not warranted under § 201.6(a) of this 

chapter and § 210.5. 

* * * * * 

(v) If the Commission determines that 

the complaint or any exhibits or 

attachments thereto contain excessive 

designations of confidentiality that are 

not warranted under § 201.6(a) of this 

chapter and § 210.5, the Commission 

may require the complainant to file new 

nonconfidential versions of the 

aforesaid submissions in accordance 

with § 210.4(f)(7)(i) and may determine 

that the thirty (30) day period for 

deciding whether to institute an 

investigation shall begin to run anew 

from the date the new nonconfidential 

versions are filed with the Commission 

in accordance with § 210.4(f)(7)(i). 

* * * * * 

■ 64. Amend § 210.76 by revising the 

paragraph (a) heading and paragraphs 

(a)(1) and (3) to read as follows: 

§ 210.76 Modification or rescission of 

exclusion orders, cease and desist orders, 

consent orders, and seizure and forfeiture 

orders. 

(a) Petitions for modification or 

rescission of exclusion orders, cease and 

desist orders, consent orders, and 

seizure and forfeiture orders. (1) 

Whenever any person believes that 

changed conditions of fact or law, or the 

public interest, require that an exclusion 

order, cease and desist order, consent 

order, or seizure and forfeiture order be 

modified or rescinded, in whole or in 

part, such person may file a petition, 

pursuant to section 337(k)(1) of the 

Tariff Act of 1930, requesting that the 

Commission make a determination that 

the conditions which led to the issuance 

of an exclusion order, cease and desist 

order, consent order, or seizure and 


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248 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 2 / Friday, January 3, 2025 / Rules and Regulations 

forfeiture order no longer exist. The 

Commission may also on its own 

initiative consider such action. The 

petition shall state the changes desired 

and the changed circumstances or 

public interest warranting such action, 

shall include materials and argument in 

support thereof, and shall be served on 

all parties to the investigation in which 

the exclusion order, cease and desist 

order, consent order, or seizure and 

forfeiture order was issued. Any person 

may file a response to the petition 

within ten (10) days of service of the 

petition. If the Commission makes such 

a determination, it shall notify the 

Secretary of the Treasury and U.S. 

Customs and Border Protection. 

* * * * * 

(3) If the petition requests 

modification or rescission of an order 

issued pursuant to section 337(d), (e), 

(f), (g), or (i) of the Tariff Act of 1930 

on the basis of a licensing or other 

settlement agreement, the petition shall 

contain copies of the licensing or other 

settlement agreements, any 

supplemental agreements, any 

documents referenced in the petition or 

attached agreements, and a statement 

that there are no other agreements, 

written or oral, express or implied 

between the parties concerning the 

subject matter of the investigation. If the 

licensing or other settlement agreement 

contains confidential business 

information within the meaning of 

§ 201.6(a) of this chapter, a copy of the 

agreement with such information 

deleted shall accompany the petition. 

On motion for good cause shown, the 

administrative law judge or the 

Commission may limit the service of the 

agreements to the settling parties and 

the Commission investigative attorney. 

* * * * * 

■ 65. Revise appendix A to part 210 to 

read as follows: 

APPENDIX A TO PART 210—ADJUDICATION AND ENFORCEMENT

Initial determination concerning: Petitions for review due: Response to petitions due: 

Commission deadline for 

determining whether to review the 

initial determination: 

1. Violation § 210.42(a)(1) .............. 12 days from service of the initial determination.8 days from service of any petition .............. 60 days from service of the initial 

determination (on private parties). 

2. Summary initial determination 

that would terminate the investigation if it became the Commission’s final determination 

§ 210.42(c)(1).

10 days from service of the initial determination.5 business days from service of any petition 45 days from service of the initial 

determination (on private parties). 

3. Other matters § 210.42(c)(1) ...... 5 business days from service of the initial 

determination.

5 business days from service of any petition 30 days from service of the initial 

determination (on private parties). 

4. Declassify information 

§ 210.42(a)(2).

10 days from service of the initial determination.5 business days from service of any petition 45 days from service of the initial 

determination (on private parties). 

5. Potentially dispositive issues 

§ 210.42(a)(3).

5 business days from service of the initial 

determination.

5 business days from service of any petition 30 days from service of the initial 

determination (on private parties). 

6. Forfeiture or return of respondents’ bond § 210.50(d)(3).10 days from service of the initial determination.5 business days from service of any petition 45 days from service of the initial 

determination (on private parties). 

7. Forfeiture or return of complainant’s temporary relief bond 

§ 210.70(c).

10 days from service of the initial determination.5 business days from service of any petition 45 days from service of the initial 

determination (on private parties). 

8. Enforcement proceedings 

§ 210.75(a)(3).

10 days from service of the enforcement 

initial determination.

5 business days from service of any petition 45 days from service of the enforcement initial determination 

(on private parties). 

By order of the Commission. 

Issued: December 20, 2024. 

Lisa Barton, 

Secretary to the Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2024–31242 Filed 1–2–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7020–02–P 

POSTAL SERVICE 

39 CFR Part 20 

International Return Receipt 

AGENCY: Postal ServiceTM. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Postal Service is revising 

Mailing Standards of the United States 

Postal Service, International Mail 

Manual (IMM®), and Notice 123, Price 

List, to reflect changes to international 

Return Receipt as established by the 

Governors of the United States Postal 

Service. 

DATES: Effective: January 1, 2025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dale 

Kennedy at 202–268–6592 or Kathy 

Frigo at 202–268–4178. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

October 10, 2024, the Postal Service 

filed a notice in PRC Docket No. 

MC2025–58, which the PRC favorably 

reviewed on December 2, 2024, in Order 

No. 8179, regarding the termination of 

international Return Receipt as an extra 

service for Priority Mail International 

and First-Class Package International 

Service, effective January 1, 2025, 

although international Return Receipt 

will continue to be eligible when 

combined with registered letters and 

flats sent as First-Class Mail 

International. 

The Postal Service hereby adopts the 

described changes to Mailing Standards 

of the United States Postal Service, 

International Mail Manual (IMM), 

which is incorporated by reference in 

the Code of Federal Regulations. 

We will publish an appropriate 

amendment to 39 CFR part 20 to reflect 

these changes. 

List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 20 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Postal Service. 

Accordingly, the Postal Service 

amends Mailing Standards of the United 

States Postal Service, International Mail 

Manual (IMM), incorporated by 

reference in the Code of Federal 

Regulations as follows (see 39 CFR 

20.1): 


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