Public Interest At The ITC

When weighing whether to issue its injunctive-type remedies—exclusion and cease-and-desist orders—the United States International Trade Commission ("Commission") is not required to apply the eBay four-factor test used by district courts for permanent injunctions.¹, ² Instead, the Commission must assess the effects its remedial orders would have on the statutory public interest factors:

1. the public health and welfare;
2. competitive conditions in the U.S. economy;
3. the production of like or directly competitive articles in the U.S.; and
4. U.S. consumers.

19 U.S.C. § 1337(d)(1), (f)(1). The Commission must evaluate these factors in every case and typically does so at the end of an investigation.