International Trade Commission
Akin’s International Trade Commission (ITC) lawyers & advisors lead the market with a track record of success representing complainants, respondents and third parties. The U.S. ITC, an independent federal agency with broad investigative responsibilities, administers various laws pertaining to imports into the United States.
Our Chambers-ranked lawyers advise on all types of proceedings administered by the ITC, including those involving patent litigation, trade remedies, customs and lobbying & public policy. We also advise and represent clients appealing decisions made by the ITC.
Why Clients Choose Akin
Akin is one of the few law firms with full-spectrum ITC expertise and capabilities spanning intellectual property (IP), trade remedies, customs, appellate advocacy and public policy. Our attorneys & advisors have a depth of experience and 360-degree view of matters before the ITC, having advised clients on all sides of the table.
Our ITC practice is comprised of seasoned lawyers and policy experts drawing on their wide-ranging experience with government agencies and trade laws. Located in offices across the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, our attorneys & advisors have a highly regarded practice within a global law firm recognized for longstanding, bipartisan relationships across the branches of government and key agencies.
Our team includes former members of Congress and other lawyers and professionals with considerable government service experience. We have former officials from various U.S. trade agencies and individuals who clerked for judges on the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the two courts that hear antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) appeals.
Services In-Depth
Intellectual Property
Akin’s IP lawyers leverage their deep experience, outstanding trial skills and technical acumen in representing clients on complex patent cases before the federal district courts, ITC, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and Central Reexamination Unit (CRU)—as well as on appeal in the Federal Circuit. We also have extensive experience advising clients on SEP/FRAND matters, including pre‑litigation licensing strategy and negotiations.
Widely recognized as one of the most active firms before the ITC, Akin provides comprehensive advice to clients through every stage of an ITC Section 337 investigation. Plus, nearly all of our IP team members have at least one technical degree in science or engineering, and years of direct experience in industry or academia in their respective fields.
Setting us apart in the market, our team routinely advises on the cross-disciplinary aspects of ITC investigations, and we regularly communicate with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the ITC to properly implement and/or enforce remedial orders.
Learn more about our work advising on ITC Section 337 investigations.
Trade Remedies
Our trade remedy lawyers guide corporate and sovereign clients through the full array of administrative and appellate proceedings under which the U.S. imposes AD/CVD, as well as tariffs and other forms of import restrictions. Our trade remedy team advocates before the ITC and other federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).
Our casework has involved imports from locations around the globe such as Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Mexico, Norway, Oman, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and the United Kingdom, including in many of the most commercially significant cases of recent decades.
In addition to representing clients in AD/CVD proceedings, our trade remedy team also counsels clients on the practical and political considerations in other matters concerning investigated imports, such as Section 201 (global safeguards) and Section 332 (conditions of competition). Our trade remedy lawyers also represent parties in appeals of ITC and other trade remedy determinations before the U.S. federal courts.
Learn more about our trade remedy work.
Customs
Akin is well versed in the significant power of the remedies available through the ITC, particularly its authority to direct the CBP to block infringing goods, as well as potentially related downstream products, from entering the U.S. This exclusion can impact an entire supply chain of the respondent.
We provide tailor-made solutions for each client and matter, with special attention given to maximizing cost-effectiveness and successful outcomes. Our team works tirelessly to ensure a client’s success in situations ranging from the minimization of customs duties and fees to the bolstering of supply chain and border security to continued compliance with government customs laws.
Our lawyers regularly appear before CBP, the U.S. Court of International Trade, and other federal courts on customs & import controls issues and also engage with numerous other federal agencies.
Learn more about our customs capabilities.
Lobbying & Public Policy
Our lobbying & public policy group integrates a top lobbying practice within a full-service law firm. Akin’s lawyers & advisors have longtime relationships with key leaders and staff throughout Congress and the executive branch. Recognizing that ITC matters inherently involve policy considerations and can draw significant interest from policymakers, we leverage our deep experience advising on ITC remedies and our strong network across Congress, the USTR and key agencies, to deliver solutions for ITC clients.
Akin’s policy team has assisted both domestic and foreign companies in dozens of ITC 337 investigations, focusing our efforts on identifying and activating supportive public interest filers, conducting congressional and administration outreach, and implementing public affairs efforts as part of a comprehensive ITC litigation strategy.
The policy team works in close consultation with ITC trial counsel to make sure the messaging and strategy complement their work and shares our extensive experience to defend against anticipated efforts by the opposing party.
Our comprehensive and holistic understanding of the real-world enforcement of ITC remedies, as well as our understanding of the unique interplay between the law, policy and politics at the ITC, helps us maximize our clients’ prospects for obtaining commercially significant outcomes for clients engaged in the 337 process.
More generally, we have successfully lobbied Congress and U.S. regulatory agencies on domestic legislation and policy on topics such as international tax, tariffs, free trade agreements, customs and national security. We engage with foreign governments on similar issues, both in the country and with their diplomatic representatives in Washington, D.C. and Geneva, Switzerland, among other cities worldwide.
Learn more about our lobbying & public policy practice.
Supreme Court & Appellate
Akin’s Supreme Court & appellate practice is recognized as one of the nation’s top appellate practices. The practice is made up of an elite group of advocates, including veterans of the Solicitor General’s office and former Supreme Court clerks, who brief and argue dozens of cases every year in federal and state appellate courts across the country.
We regularly lead representations in the Federal Circuit (which has jurisdiction over appeals from ITC decisions) on the most cutting-edge issues facing companies today. Our integration of technical know-how and top-flight appellate advocacy skills ranges from collaborating with trial counsel on strategy and deploying our extensive experience in the Federal Circuit.
Learn more about our Supreme Court & appellate work.
