On February 10, 2020, the US International Trade Commission (USITC) published in the Federal Register a summary of Commission practice relating to administrative protective orders (APOs). Since February 1991, the USITC has published in the Federal Register reports on the status of its practice with respect to breaches of its APOs under title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930, in response to a direction contained in the Conference Report to the Customs and Trade Act of 1990. Over time, the Commission has added to its report discussions of APO breaches in USITC proceedings other than under title VII, and violations of the USITC’s rules, including the rule on bracketing business proprietary information (the “24-hour rule”). The notice provides a summary of APO breach investigations completed during fiscal years 2018 and 2019. The USITC intends for this report to inform representatives of parties to USITC proceedings of the specific types of APO breaches before the USITC and the corresponding types of actions that the USITC has taken.
