On October 12, 2022, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a notice and request for comments regarding its ongoing four-year statutory review of the Section 301 investigation of China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation. The USTR is seeking public comments on the effectiveness of the tariff actions in achieving the objectives of the investigation, other actions that could be taken, and the effects of such actions on the United States economy, including consumers.

The USTR is specifically interested in comments on the following:

  • The effectiveness of the actions in obtaining the elimination of China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation.
  • The effectiveness of the actions in counteracting China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation.
  • Other actions or modifications that would be more effective in obtaining the elimination of or in counteracting China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation.
  • The effects of the actions on the U.S. economy, including U.S. consumers.
  • The effects of the actions on domestic manufacturing, including in terms of capital investments, domestic capacity and production levels, industry concentrations, and profits.
  • The effects of the actions on U.S. technology, including in terms of U.S. technological leadership and U.S. technological development.
  • The effects of the actions on U.S. workers, including with respect to employment and wages.
  • The effects of the actions on U.S. small businesses.
  • The effects of the actions on U.S. supply chain resilience.
  • The effects of the actions on the goals of U.S. critical supply chains.
  • Whether the actions have resulted in higher additional duties on inputs used for additional manufacturing in the United States than the additional duties on particular downstream product(s) or finished good(s) incorporating those inputs.

The USTR will open a public docket on November 15, 2022, to receive public comments. All comments must be submitted via the USTR’s online portal at https://comments.USTR.gov on Docket No. USTR-2022-0014. The portal will allow for the submission of Business Confidential Information (BCI). The USTR will post submissions in the docket for public inspection, except for BCI filings. The docket will close on January 17, 2023. At a later date, the USTR will evaluate whether to provide further opportunities for public comment through additional written comments or by holding public hearings.

In early September 2022, the USTR confirmed that domestic industries had reported benefiting from the tariffs and that such tariffs would continue during the review process (see  Update of September 6, 2022). For more details on the initiation of these reviews, see Update of May 3, 2022.

Photo of Scott E. Diamond** Scott E. Diamond**

Scott is a senior policy advisor with more than 25 years’ experience with the legislative and regulatory processes involved in international trade policy, remedies and enforcement. This includes working with clients on matters involving export controls, economic sanctions, human rights and forced labor…

Scott is a senior policy advisor with more than 25 years’ experience with the legislative and regulatory processes involved in international trade policy, remedies and enforcement. This includes working with clients on matters involving export controls, economic sanctions, human rights and forced labor compliance, corporate anti-boycott and antibribery compliance, national security investigations, and foreign direct investment in the United States.

**Not licensed to practice law.

Photo of David M. Schwartz David M. Schwartz

David is the leader of Thompson Hine’s International Trade practice group and a member of the firm’s International Committee. He advises clients on the risks and opportunities presented by U.S. international trade laws and regulations and international trade agreements. He focuses on antidumping…

David is the leader of Thompson Hine’s International Trade practice group and a member of the firm’s International Committee. He advises clients on the risks and opportunities presented by U.S. international trade laws and regulations and international trade agreements. He focuses on antidumping (AD), countervailing duty (CVD) and safeguard litigation, international trade policy, and cross-border compliance issues affecting goods, services, technology and investments that involve transportation, customs, export controls, economic sanctions, anti-boycott and anti-bribery laws and regulations.

Photo of Samir D. Varma Samir D. Varma

Samir advises multinational corporations on export controls, economic sanctions and customs, and counsels individuals and corporations on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other anti-corruption laws. He represents clients in enforcement actions before U.S. regulatory agencies and conducts corporate internal investigations.