Safeguard measures and fresh produce trade: The case of U.S. blueberry imports

Safeguard measures are used to limit excessive import growth and protect domestic producers from unfair import competition. The global safeguard investigation for blueberries highlights these concerns and raises questions about the relationship between imports, prices, and the well-being of U.S. producers. Although the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) ruled that imports have not caused serious injury to U.S. blueberry producers, it was important to further examine this issue. In this study, we employ an inverse demand model and dynamic Vector Autoregressive (VAR) procedure linking source-specific fresh blueberry imports from countries like Mexico and Chile to U.S. blueberry prices. Our results mostly support the USITC ruling. Results indicate that declines in U.S. prices are small when compared to the level of import growth. Impulse response functions indicate that import price shocks are not long lasting.

International Trade Commission Exclusion Orders for the Infringement of Standard-Essential Patents

In the United States, a patent holder can pursue several remedies against a patent infringer. Section 284 of the Patent Act provides that, upon a finding of infringement, “the court shall award the claimant damages adequate to compensate for the infringement, but in no event less than a reasonable royalty . . . .” In addition, § 283 provides that a court “may grant injunctions in accordance with the principles of equity to prevent the violation of any right secured by patent.” Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 also allows a patent holder to petition the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC)—a federal agency that investigates matters of international trade and advises on international trade policy— to issue an exclusion order against an infringer, a remedy that denies the importation and sale in the United States of products that infringe a valid and enforceable U.S. patent.3 In a case of patent infringement, a patent holder may thus seek damages for the infringement, an injunction, and an exclusion order.