In recent years, an increasing number of cases have been brought before the International Trade Commission (ITC) that may not warrant the agency’s remedy or even review. Increasingly, ITC complaints are leveraged as an end-run around the U.S. District Courts for plaintiffs seeking to enhance their negotiating position. In addition, the solitary remedy available to the ITC is the exclusion order. This “all-or-nothing” enforcement structure, which bans the import of goods deemed to be infringing, supercharges the potential consumer and public welfare impact of the cases the Commission reviews.
This op-ed, published in The Hill, explains why the ITC should consider delaying its decisions in best interest of consumers and markets, rather than rushing to exclude products with questionable evidence.