WASHINGTON—The International Trade Commission is asking the public for comments on whether the ITC should issue a general or limited exclusion order against the importation of Chinese rubber resins.
Last June 17, an ITC administrative law judge found that Sino Legend (Zhangjiagang) Chemical Co. Ltd. had caused material injury to the U.S. rubber resins industry—first by stealing SI Group Inc.'s proprietary resin manufacturing technology, then by selling resins made by those methods in the U.S.
In particular, the ITC wants commenters to:
• Explain how the resins potentially to be excluded from U.S. sale are used in the U.S.;
• Identify any public health, safety or welfare concerns an exclusion order might cause;
• Identify products made by SI Group, its licensees or third parties that could replace the Chinese resins;
• Indicate whether SI Group, its licensees or third parties have the capacity to make up for the loss of Chinese imports; and
• Explain how a general or limited exclusion order would affect U.S. consumers.
The ITC will accept comments until Aug. 14. The full ITC is expected to rule on the administrative law judge's ruling in October.
The same day that the ITC judge ruled in SI Group's long-standing complaint against Sino Legend, a court in Shanghai ruled there was no factual or legal basis for SI Group's claim that Sino Legend stole its trade secrets.