Amendments to International Trade Commission’s Amendment to Rules of Practice and Procedure
On February 3, 2025, amendments to the International Trade Commission’s (Commission) Rules of Practice and Procedure are scheduled to take effect.1 The Commission announced the forthcoming amendments on January 3, 2025, following a period of notice-and-comment.2 The rule adopts, with minor exceptions, the amendments proposed by the Commission on March 28, 2024.3
The amendments focus on revising procedures and rules of general application, safeguards, antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) investigations, and section 337 adjudication and enforcement.4 The Commission described the amendments as “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.”5
At a high level, many of the Commission’s amendments for general practice and AD/CVD proceedings are technical in nature: such as corrections of typographical errors, adoption of gender-neutral language, the establishment of permanent electronic filing procedures in lieu of or as an alternative to paper copies, and allowing witness testimony to be filed the day of hearings.6 Additionally, the Commission’s amendments clarify the requirements for the content and filing of complaints with the Commission and align certain discovery rules with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.7
Buchanan’s International Trade and National Security Group is currently monitoring the potential impact on the scheduled effective date of the Commission’s amendments due to the Executive Order issued by President Trump on January 20, 2025.
- Practice and Procedure: Rules of General Application, Safeguards, Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigations, and Section 337 Adjudication and Enforcement, 90 Fed. Reg. 225 (Jan. 3, 2025) (Practice and Procedure). On January 21, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order requesting that all executive departments and agencies consider postponing the effective date for any rules published in the Federal Register or rules which have not yet taken effect for 60 days. Regulatory Freeze Pending Review, (Jan. 20, 2025), https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/regulatory-freeze-pending-review/.
- Practice and Procedure, 90 Fed. Reg. at 225.
- Practice and Procedure: Rules of General Application, Safeguards, Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigations, and Section 337 Adjudication and Enforcement, 89 Fed. Reg. 22,012 (Mar. 28, 2024).
- 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). See Practice and Procedure, 90 Fed. Reg. 225.
- Id.
- See Practice and Procedure, 90 Fed. Reg. at 226-32. A complete summary of the proposed amendments is included in the January 3rd final rule.
- Id.