IP Law Daily, USITC NEWS—International Trade Commission proposes rule amendments for Section 337 investigations, (May 1, 2026)
By Steven D. Cole, J.D.
The proposed rulemaking would require the disclosure of information by the parties and intervenors in Section 337 investigations regarding entities that have an ownership or a financial interest therein.
The United States International Trade Commission (Commission) has published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Notice) in the Federal Register (19 C.F.R. Part 210) seeking public comment on proposed amendments to its Rules of Practice and Procedure (Rules) concerning Section 337 adjudication and enforcement. The intended effect of the rulemaking is to require the disclosure of information by the parties and intervenors in Section 337 investigations and ancillary proceedings before the Commission regarding entities that have an ownership or a financial interest in the investigation.
Background. The Commission is seeking to improve provisions of its existing Rules by formalizing the disclosure of information by parties and intervenors in proceedings conducted under Section 337 of the Tariff Act, 19 U.S.C. § 1337, regarding entities that have an ownership and/or financial interest in the investigations. Many federal courts have real-party-in-interest and litigation-funding disclosure requirements to promote transparency, and the Commission’s rules are currently lacking in this regard. Accordingly, the Commission is endeavoring to implement such rules, the purpose of which is threefold:
To facilitate evaluation of potential conflicts for the Commissioners, the Commission’s Administrative Law Judges (ALJs), and Commission employees (e.g., by clarifying whether a party is owned or controlled by another entity, or whether an entity other than the party has control over the party’s participation in the investigation);
To provide early clarity about entities whose rights are at issue in the investigation; and
To promote transparency, facilitate settlement, and bring relevant issues to the Commission’s attention.
The Commission has noted that the proposed amendments are not meant to prohibit the Commission and its ALJs from requesting additional information from the parties.
Proposed amendments. Under 19 C.F.R. Part 210, Subpart B (“Commencement of Preinstitution Proceedings and Investigations”), the Commission is proposing to amend § 210.8 to indicate that the complainant must file, concurrently with the complaint, a separate disclosure statement pursuant to a new section, § 210.14a.
Under Subpart C (“Pleadings”), the proposed rulemaking would amend § 210.13 to indicate that each respondent must file, concurrently with its response, a separate disclosure statement pursuant to § 210.14a.
Significantly, also under Subpart C, § 210.14a would be added, which provides for certain disclosure requirements by the parties in Section 337 proceedings, and applies to each nongovernment party to a Section 337 investigation and each nongovernment party who seeks to intervene. The proposed rule requires that these parties file a disclosure statement with the Secretary identifying any parent corporation and any other entity, not including natural person(s), owning that party’s stock. Each party must also identify any person or entity that has the legal right to bring a Section 337 investigation based on the unfair act or acts asserted in the complaint, other than the complainant. (For example, the person or entity that has the legal right to institute a Section 337 proceeding in patent, trademark, and copyright investigations is the owner or exclusive licensee, whereas for trade secret investigations, that person or entity is the trade secret owner.) In addition, each party must identify any person or entity (not including a party’s counsel) that provides funding specifically for the Section 337 investigation (other than personal loans, bank loans, or insurance) or whose approval is necessary for litigation or settlement decisions in the investigation (also stating the nature of the terms and conditions relating to such approval). The statement must include the identity, business address, and, if a legal entity, place of formation for each corporation, entity, or person identified. Finally, the proposed rule allows a party to state that there is no, or that they are not aware of any, such parent corporation, entity, or person.
Under Subpart D (“Motions”), § 210.19 would be amended to indicate that the intervenor must file, concurrently with its motion to intervene, a separate disclosure statement pursuant to § 210.14a.
Under Subpart I (“Enforcement Procedures and Advisory Opinions”), the proposed amendment would affect three sections. Section 210.75 would be amended to indicate that a separate disclosure statement pursuant to § 210.14a must be filed by the enforcement complainant, concurrently with the enforcement complaint, and by the other parties named in the notice of institution, concurrently with their responses. Section 210.76 would be amended to indicate that a separate disclosure statement pursuant to § 210.14a must be filed by the petitioner, concurrently with their petition to modify and/or rescind a remedial order, and by any responding party, concurrently with its response. And § 210.79 would be amended to indicate that a separate disclosure statement pursuant to § 210.14a must be filed by the requester, concurrently with their request for an advisory proceeding, and by any responding party, concurrently with its response.
Request for public comment. The Commission is encouraging members of the public to comment on the proposed rulemaking, focusing on the following: (1) the benefits to parties, the public, and the Commission in having a disclosure rule like the one proposed; (2) any undue burden that the proposed amendments would have on parties; and (3) ways to mitigate those burdens while achieving the stated objectives. The Commission is also seeking feedback on whether the proposed amendments are likely to affect certain entities or circumstances more than others. In addition, because some provisions in the proposed amendments are similar to the disclosure requirements currently found in federal court rules and other judicial and administrative forums, the Commission is interested in comments concerning the relevance of any variances between the proposed amendments and similar provisions in those rules.
The Notice draws particular attention to the certain aspects of proposed § 210.14a, asking commenters to address, among other issues:
Whether paragraph (a)(1) should require disclosure of entities owning a party’s stock only after a particular percentage of ownership is reached;
Whether paragraph (a)(2) should apply to respondents and intervenors, or only to complainants, and whether there is enough clarity about entities that have a legal right to bring a Section 337 investigation to be able to comply;
Whether definitions of certain terms would be useful, and any proposals for such definitions;
Whether the disclosures required should differ for investigations under Section 337(a)(1)(A), as opposed to Section 337(a)(1)(B)–(E);
Whether disclosure of funding or necessary approval in related litigation is relevant and should be included in the disclosures; and
Whether there are other possible financial interests in Section 337 investigations that are not required to be disclosed that should also be subject to disclosure, and, if so, details regarding the nature of such interests, and how to define both the nature and holders of such interests.
The Commission is seeking written comments on the proposal, which must be submitted by 5:15pm on June 29, 2026. Comments may be submitted online, via e-mail, or in paper, identified by Docket No. MISC-051. All comments received will be posted without alteration on the Commission’s website: https://www.usitc.gov.
If the Commission decides to proceed with this rulemaking after reviewing the comments, the proposed rule revisions will be promulgated in accordance with the applicable requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act and will be codified in 19 C.F.R. Part 210.
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