Study On The Legitimacy Of Section 337 Of The Tariff Act Of The US

The item"Section 337"is the short form of Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. It was originally designed to attack various unfair methods of competition and unfair acts in the importation of articles into the United States at the beginning. But it made more emphasis on protection for intellectual property rights in practice. Nowadays, it becomes a powerful weapon of the US to attack components in international trade, and China has become the biggest target of Section 337. Along with the evolution of Section 337, it was taken several challenges from other countries. The question, which is"if Section 337 is in accordance with the regulations and rules of GATT and WTO", is a focus of the discussion. In this article, the writer wants to express some ideas about this question, and hopes to put forward some suggestion for China dealing with Section 337 investigation.The article is divided into three parts apart from introduction and conclusion.The first part is about the content and evolution of Section 337, and the significance of study on the legitimacy of Section 337.In part two, the writer analyzes whether Section 337 is in accordance with GATT. First, the writer reviews two cases about the Section 337. Second, the writer analyzes the article 3 and article 20 of GATT. Last, the writer analyzes whether Section 337 offends article 3 or fits article 20 of GATT.In part three, the writer analyzes whether Section 337 is in accordance with new regulations and rules after the WTO being established. The points involve: Section 337 is measures of trade remedy or measures of unilateral sanction; if Section 337 conflicts with system of dispute settlement of WTO; if Section 337 is in accordance with TRIPs.In part four, the writer analyzes the difficult in refuting the legitimacy of Section 337 at first. And then, the writer puts forward some suggestion for China dealing with Section 337 investigation. The government must pay respect to Section 337 and provide good service for enterprises. The enterprises of China must improve ideas of protection for intellectual property rights and get together to win the cases about Section 337.