The US International Trade Commission (ITC) amended its Rules of
Practice and Procedure concerning investigations under § 337
of the Tariff Act (19 USC § 1337). While some amendments
provide only technical corrections or clarifications, others may
have a significant impact on § 337 investigations. The most
notable changes include rules governing the severance of a
complaint and the "100-day" program. The amendments
became effective June 7, 2018, and apply only to investigations
instituted after that date.
One Complaint May Be Severed into Multiple Investigations
Under the amended rules, an administrative law judge (ALJ) or
the ITC may sever a single complaint into multiple investigations.
A party may also move to sever a complaint. The rules did not set
forth specific factors to weigh in a severance analysis, but the
ITC explained that severance may be appropriate if a complaint
alleges a "significant number of unrelated technologies,
diverse products, unrelated
