By Michael Doane,
IPPI Scholar & Assistant Professor of Law, The University of Akron School of Law
Often referred to as an “obscure Federal Agency” when it does something particularly notable like exclude popular, but infringing, products from importation into the United States, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) occupies an important position in U.S. international trade policy and the enforcement of U.S. intellectual property (IP) rights. For this reason, it is concerning that the USITC has operated for more than a decade with significantly less than a full slate of Commissioners under both Republican and Democratic Administrations. As an independent agency, the USITC is supposed to be composed of six Commissioners serving staggered 9-year terms with no more than three Commissioners from one political party. Currently, there are only three Commissioners, none of whom are on current terms. In fact, the term of one sitting Commissioner expired in 2018. It is, therefore, encouraging that in 2026, President Trump has nominated five individuals to serve as Commissioners on the USITC with, hopefully, enough time for these nominations to be considered by the U.S. Senate.
The key functions of the USITC are to provide independent research and analysis on international trade issues, maintain the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, issue material injury determinations in anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations and conduct unfair import investigations pursuant to Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. This last function, Section 337 investigations, are of primary importance to intellectual property owners seeking to enforce their rights against imported infringing products. These functions require that those appointed to serve on the USITC have strong backgrounds in international trade and/or intellectual property protection. The current nominees to the USITC all appear to meet this requirement.
On January 29, 2026, David Foley, Jr. (Republican) was nominated to the USITC for a term expiring June 16, 2032, replacing Commissioner Amy Karpel, currently Chair of the USITC, whose term expired June 16, 2023. Mr. Foley is the Chief Counsel for Intellectual Property (Majority) to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence and the Internet. Mr. Foley has experience in intellectual property policy and enforcement, having served as an Attorney Advisor at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Attorney-Advisor in the Office of the Administrative Law Judges at the USITC. As an IP attorney in the Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, of the U.S. Department of Justice, Mr. Foley was detailed to the Executive Office of the President to work on various international trade issues.
On January 29, 2026, Brett Doyle (Republican) was nominated to the USITC for a term expiring December 16, 2030, replacing former Commissioner Rhonda K. Schmidtlein. Mr. Doyle is currently an Assistant United States Trade Representative and served at the U.S. Environment Protection Agency and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) during the first Trump Administration. Mr. Doyle has also worked as an analyst/legislative assistant in the U.S. Senate.
On June 1, 2026, Samuel Negatu (Democrat) was nominated to the USITC for a term expiring June 16, 2029, replacing former Commissioner F. Scott Keiff. Mr. Negatu is currently the Director of Government Affairs at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Prior to joining CTA, Mr. Negatu served as Assistant General Counsel to the USTR and Deputy Assistant USTR for Congressional Relations. Mr. Negatu also served as a Legislative Director/Legislative Counsel in the U.S. House of Representatives.
On June 1, 2026, Bartholomew Thanhauser (Democrat) was nominated to the USITC for a term expiring December 16, 2027, replacing Commissioner David S. Johanson. Mr. Thanhauser served in the Office of the USTR for over 10 years, holding positions such as Deputy Assistant USTR for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Mr. Thanhauser also served as a Legislative Fellow/Trade Advisor to Senator Cortex Masto.
On June 1, 2026, Peter-Anthony Pappas (Republican) was nominated to the USITC for a term expiring June 16, 2026, replacing former Commissioner Randolph Stayin, and was also nominated to the USITC (Reappointment) for a term expiring June 16, 2035. Mr. Pappas is currently the Director of Intellectual Property Policy for the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary and brings significant intellectual property policy and enforcement expertise. Mr. Pappas also served at the USPTO for over 20 years holding such positions as Supervisory Patent Examiner, Special Advisor to the Under Secretary of Commerce for IP and USPTO Director, and Branch Chief, Patent Trial and Appeal Board Analysis and Process Improvement Branch.
If confirmed, these nominees would join Commissioner Jason Kearn (term expired December 16, 2024), providing the USITC with a full complement of six commissioners. Each of these nominees brings important international trade and/or intellectual property experience, which is vital to the operation of the USITC. Intellectual property rights owners rely on the USITC to provide efficient and effective relief against infringing imported products under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. The USITC will be in a better position to do so if the U.S. Senate considers these nominees before the end of this term.