19 CFR § 210.8 - Commencement of preinstitution proceedings.
A preinstitution proceeding is commenced by filing with the Secretary a signed complaint.
(a) Filing and service copies. (1)(i) A complaint, enforcement complaint, supplement, or amendment under § 210.14(a) thereto, filed under this section shall be filed with the Secretary pursuant to § 210.4. By close of business the next business day following official receipt of the complaint, complainant must deliver copies to the Secretary for service by the Secretary as follows:
(A) For each proposed respondent, one (1) true paper copy of the nonconfidential version of the complaint, one (1) true paper copy of the confidential version of the complaint, if any, and one (1) true paper copy of any supplements or amendments under § 210.14(a), along with one (1) true copy of the nonconfidential exhibits and one (1) true copy of the confidential exhibits in electronic form on a CD ROM, DVD, or other portable electronic media approved by the Secretary; and
(B) For the government of the foreign country in which each proposed respondent is located as indicated in the complaint, one (1) true paper copy of the nonconfidential version of the complaint.
(ii) Failure to timely provide service copies may result in a delay or denial of institution of an investigation under § 210.10 for failure to properly file the complaint.
(2) If the complaint, enforcement complaint, supplement, or amendment under § 210.14(a) thereto, is seeking temporary relief, the complainant must also by close of business the next business day following official receipt of the complaint, deliver copies to the Secretary for service as follows: for each proposed respondent, one (1) true paper copy of the nonconfidential version of the motion and one (1) true paper copy of the confidential version of the motion along with one (1) true copy of the nonconfidential exhibits and one (1) true copy of the confidential exhibits filed with the motion in electronic form on a CD ROM, DVD, or other portable electronic media approved by the Secretary.
(b) Provide specific information regarding the public interest. Complainant must file, concurrently with the complaint, a separate statement of public interest, not to exceed five (5) pages, inclusive of attachments, addressing how issuance of the requested relief, i.e., a general exclusion order, a limited exclusion order, and/or a cease and desist order, in this investigation could affect the public health and welfare in the United States, competitive conditions in the United States economy, the production of like or directly competitive articles in the United States, or United States consumers. If the complainant files a confidential version of its submission on public interest, it shall file a public version of the submission no later than one business day after the deadline for filing the submission. In particular, the submission should:
(1) Explain how the articles potentially subject to the requested remedial orders are used in the United States;
(2) Identify any public health, safety, or welfare concerns relating to the requested remedial orders;
(3) Identify like or directly competitive articles that complainant, its licensees, or third parties make which could replace the subject articles if they were to be excluded;
(4) Indicate whether the complainant, its licensees, and/or third parties have the capacity to replace the volume of articles subject to the requested remedial orders in a commercially reasonable time in the United States; and
(5) State how the requested remedial orders would impact consumers.
(c) Publication of notice of filing.
(1) When a complaint is filed, the Secretary to the Commission will publish a notice in the Federal Register inviting comments from the public, interested government agencies, and proposed respondents on any issues arising from the complaint and potential exclusion and/or cease and desist orders. In response to the notice, members of the public, interested government agencies, and proposed respondents may provide specific information regarding the public interest and other issues in a written submission not to exceed five (5) pages, inclusive of attachments, to the Secretary to the Commission within eight (8) calendar days of publication of notice of the filing of a complaint. Members of the public, interested government agencies, and proposed respondents may address how issuance of the requested exclusion order and/or a cease and desist order in this investigation could affect the public health and welfare in the United States, competitive conditions in the United States economy, the production of like or directly competitive articles in the United States, or United States consumers. If a member of the public, interested government agency, or proposed respondent files a confidential version of its submission, it shall file a public version of the submission with the Secretary to the Commission and provide a copy of the public version of the submission to complainant no later than one (1) business day after the deadline for filing the submission. Submissions addressing the public interest should:
(i) Explain how the articles potentially subject to the requested remedial orders are used in the United States;
(ii) Identify any public health, safety, or welfare concerns relating to the requested remedial orders;
(iii) Identify like or directly competitive articles that complainant, its licensees, or third parties make which could replace the subject articles if they were to be excluded;
(iv) Indicate whether the complainant, its licensees, and/or third parties have the capacity to replace the volume of articles subject to the requested remedial orders in a commercially reasonable time in the United States; and
(v) State how the requested remedial orders would impact consumers.
(2) Complainant may file a reply to any submissions received under paragraph (c)(1) of this section not to exceed five (5) pages, inclusive of attachments, to the Secretary to the Commission within three (3) calendar days following the filing of the submissions. Notwithstanding § 201.14(a) of this chapter, computation of the reply time period will begin with the first business day following the day on which submissions under paragraph (c)(1) are due, but will include subsequent Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal legal holidays. If the complainant files a confidential version of its submission, it shall file a public version of the submission no later than one (1) business day after the deadline for filing the submission.
(3) No further submissions will be accepted unless requested by the Commission.
(d) Upon the initiative of the Commission. The Commission may upon its initiative commence a preinstitution proceeding based upon any alleged violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930.