UNFAIR PRACTICES IN IMPORT TRADE.

SEC. 321. UNFAIR PRACTICES IN IMPORT TRADE. (a) Amendments to Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930—Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1337) is amended as follows: (1) Investigation.—Subsection (b) is amended— (A) Time Limits”in the heading; (B) in paragraph (1) by striking all that follows the second sentence and inserting the following: “The Commission shall conclude any such investigation and make its determination under this section at the earliest practicable time after the date of publication of notice of such investigation. To promote expeditious adjudication, the Commission shall, within 45 days after an investigation is initiated, establish a target date for its final determination.”; and (C) in paragraph (3)— (i) in the first sentence— (I) by striking “the Tariff Act of 1930” and inserting “this Act”, and (II) by striking “such Act” and inserting “such subtitle”; and (ii) by striking the fifth sentence. (2) Determination; review.—Subsection (c) is amended— (A) in the first sentence by striking “a settlement agreement” and inserting “an agreement between the private 108 STAT. 4944parties to the investigation, including an agreement to present the matter for arbitration”; (B) by inserting the following after the third sentence: “A respondent may raise any counterclaim in a manner prescribed by the Commission. Immediately after a counter-claim is received by the Commission, the respondent raising such counterclaim shall file a notice of removal with a United States district court in which venue for any of the counterclaims raised by the party would exist under section 1391 of title 28, United States Code. Any counter-claim raised pursuant to this section shall relate back to the date of the original complaint in the proceeding before the Commission. Action on such counterclaim shall not delay or affect the proceeding under this section, including the legal and equitable defenses that may be raised under this subsection.”; and (C) by adding at the end the following: “Determinations by the Commission under subsections (e), (f), and (j) with respect to forfeiture of bonds and under subsection (h) with respect to the imposition of sanctions for abuse of discovery or abuse of process shall also be reviewable in accordance with section 706 of title 5, United States Code.”. (3) Entry under bond.—Subsection (e) is amended— (A) in the last sentence of paragraph (1) by striking “determined by the Commission” and all that follows through the end of the sentence and inserting “prescribed by the Secretary in an amount determined by the Commission to be sufficient to protect the complainant from any injury. If the Commission later determines that the respondent has violated the provisions of this section, the bond may be forfeited to the complainant.”; (B) by adding at the end of paragraph (2) the following: “If the Commission later determines that the respondent has not violated the provisions of this section, the bond may be forfeited to the respondent.”; and (C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(4) The Commission shall prescribe the terms and conditions under which bonds may be forfeited under paragraphs (1) and (2).”. (4) Cease and desist orders.—Subsection (f)(1) is amended by adding at the end the following: “If a temporary cease and desist order is issued in addition to, or in lieu of, an exclusion order under subsection (e), the Commission may require the complainant to post a bond, in an amount determined by the Commission to be sufficient to protect the respondent from any injury, as a prerequisite to the issuance of an order under this subsection. If the Commission later determines that the respondent has not violated the provisions of this section, the bond may be forfeited to the respondent. The Commission shall prescribe the terms and conditions under which the bonds may be forfeited under this paragraph.”. (5) Conditions applicable for general exclusion orders.—(A) Subsection (d) is amended— (i) by inserting “(1)” before “If”; (ii) in the first sentence by striking “there is violation” and inserting “there is a violation”; and (iii) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 108 STAT. 4945 “(2) The authority of the Commission to order an exclusion from entry of articles shall be limited to persons determined by the Commission to be violating this section unless the Commission determines that— “(A) a general exclusion from entry of articles is necessary to prevent circumvention of an exclusion order limited to products of named persons; or “(B) there is a pattern of violation of this section and it is difficult to identify the source of infringing products.”. (B) Subsection (g)(2) is amended— (i) by striking “and” at the end of subparagraph (A); (ii) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B) and inserting “, and”; and (iii) by adding after subparagraph (B) the following: “(C) the requirements of subsection (d)(2) are met.”. (6) Entry under bond after referral to the president.—Subsection (j)(3) is amended by striking “shall be entitled to entry under bond” and all that follows through the end of the sentence and inserting “shall, until such determination becomes final, be entitled to entry under bond prescribed by the Secretary in an amount determined by the Commission to be sufficient to protect the complainant from any injury. If the determination becomes final, the bond may be forfeited to the complainant The Commission shall prescribe the terms and conditions under which bonds may be forfeited under this paragraph.”. (7) Access to confidential information.—Subsection (n)(2) is amended— (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows: “(A) an officer or employee of the Commission who is directly concerned with— “(i) carrying out the investigation or related proceeding in connection with which the information is submitted, “(ii) the administration of a bond posted pursuant to subsection (e), (f), or (j), “(iii) the administration or enforcement of an exclusion order issued pursuant to subsection (d), (e), or (g), a cease-and-desist order issued pursuant to subsection (f), or a consent order issued pursuant to subsection (c), “(iv) proceedings for the modification or rescission of a temporary or permanent order issued under subsection (d), (e), (f), (g), or (i), or a consent order issued under this section, or “(v) maintaining the administrative record of the investigation or related proceeding,”; and (B) by amending subparagraph (C) to read as follows: “(C) an officer or employee oi the United States Customs Service who is directly involved in administering an exclusion from entry under subsection (d), (e), or (g) resulting from the investigation or related proceeding in connection with which the information is submitted.”. (8) Technical amendment.—Subsection (1) is amended by striking “Claims Court” and inserting “Court of Federal Claims”. (b) Amendments to Title 28, United States Code.— (1) Stay of actions.— 108 STAT. 4946 (A) In general.—Chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section: “§ 1659. Stay of certain actions pending disposition of related proceedings before the United States International Trade Commission “(a) Stay.—In a civil action involving parties that are also parties to a proceeding before the United States International Trade Commission under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, at the request of a party to the civil action that is also a respondent in the proceeding before the Commission, the district court shall stay, until the determination of the Commission becomes final, proceedings in the civil action with respect to any claim that involves the same issues involved in the proceeding before the Commission, but only if such request is made within— “(1) 30 days after the party is named as a respondent in the proceeding before the Commission, or “(2) 30 days after the district court action is filed, whichever is later. “(b) Use of Commission Record.—Notwithstanding section 337(n)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, after dissolution of a stay under subsection (a), the record of the proceeding before the United States International Trade Commission shall be transmitted to the district court and shall be admissible in the civil action, subject to such protective order as the district court determines necessary, to the extent permitted under the Federal Rules of Evidence and the Federal Rides of Civil Procedure”. (B) Clerical amendment.—The table of sections for chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new item: “1659. Stay of certain actions pending disposition of related proceedings before the United States International Trade Commission.”. (2) Counterclaims.—Section 1446 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: “(f) With respect to any counterclaim removed to a district court pursuant to section 337(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930, the district court shall resolve such counterclaim in the same manner as an original complaint under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, except that the payment of a filing fee shall not be required in such cases and the counterclaim shall relate back to the date of the original complaint in the proceeding before the International Trade Commission under section 337 of that Act”. (3) Jurisdiction.— (A) In general.—Chapter 85 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: “§1368. Counterclaims in unfair practices in international trade. “The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action based on a counterclaim raised pursuant to section 337(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930, to the extent that it arises out of the transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the opposing party’s claim in the proceeding under section 337(a) of that Act.”. 108 STAT. 4947 (B) Clerical amendment.—The table of sections for chapter 85 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: “1368. Counterclaims in unfair practices in international trade.”.