President Donald Trump on Thursday extended "safeguard" tariffs on large residential washers for another two years in a move that further shields domestic manufacturers such as Whirlpool Corp from import competition.
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
After a slow but steady start to 2020, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) saw a flurry of new complaints filed in the second half of the year. Eight new complaints were filed in December, resulting in a total of 57 complaints filed in 2020. As discussed in previous posts (e.g. here and here), the ITC adapted to the COVID-19 crisis and demonstrated its ability to conclude investigations in a timely manner. The post-pandemic rush to the ITC demonstrates the confidence of litigants that the ITC will continue to be a reliable forum for resolving IP disputes.
Section 337 Investigations at the ITC
If you're one of the people who invested in a kitchen update during the past year, you may also be one of the people who found that appliances are in very limited supply.
Between a production shutdown during the spring of 2020, shortages in the supply chain and demand from people remodeling…
US blueberry growers testify to ITC about harm of imports
Members of the American Blueberry Growers Alliance, a group representing U.S. domestic blueberry farmers, provided information to the U.S. International Trade Commission during a hearing on the impact of rising imports during the U.S. growing and harvest seasons. According to the information provided, American blueberry growers across the country – mostly small, family-run farms – have been devastated by an influx in blueberry imports, up by 75 percent in the past five years.
“The massive increase in Mexican imports during our harvesting season has crippled the Florida blueberry industry and threatens its very existence,” said Brittany Lee, Executive Director of the Florida Blueberry Growers Association and owner of Florida Blue Farms. “Over the period 2009 to 2019, we saw imports from Mexico increase by 2,111 percent. We have experienced a significant decline in price per pound for fresh blueberries in Florida, an
Hillsboro solar panel factory shuts down, 170 laid off January 12 2021
SunPower purchased the 47-acre solar panel manufacturing facility in 2018 after its former owner faced challenges.
In another setback for the former SolarWorld factory in Hillsboro, SunPower announced Thursday, Jan. 7, that it would close the 47-acre solar panel manufacturing facility and lay off 170 workers.
The factory was originally built in the 1990s after a $500 million investment from the Japanese semiconductor company Komatsu Silicon America.
But Komatsu never opened the facility, which sat idle for nearly a decade before SolarWorld began manufacturing solar panels there, thanks in part to state tax breaks.
At its peak, SolarWorld was the largest solar panel material-producing company in the United States, employing more than 1,000 people.