ITC Opens Public Comment Period on Section 337 Complaint Over Chinese Anode Materials for Batteries

The Complaint

The U.S. International Trade Commission has received a complaint — docketed as Certain Anode Materials for Use in Battery Cells and Batteries, DN 3916 — filed on behalf of Sila Nanotechnologies, Inc. and Georgia Tech Research Corporation on June 18, 2026. The complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1337) in the importation into the United States, the sale for importation, and the sale within the United States after importation of the subject anode materials.

The complaint names three respondents, all based in China: Carbon ONE New Energy Group Co., Ltd.; Carbon One New Energy (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd.; and Zhejiang Lichen New Material Technology Co., Ltd. The complainants request that the Commission issue a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders against the respondents' alleged infringing articles. They also request that the Commission impose a bond upon the respondents' alleged infringing articles during the 60-day Presidential review period pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1337(j).

Public Interest Comment Process

Pursuant to Section 210.8(b) of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, the Commission is soliciting comments on any public interest issues raised by the complaint. The Commission states it is interested in comments that address whether issuance of the specifically requested relief would 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.

In particular, the Commission has identified five areas of interest for commenters: how the articles potentially subject to the remedial orders are used in the United States; any public health, safety, or welfare concerns relating to the requested remedial orders; identification of like or directly competitive articles that the complainant, its licensees, or third parties make in the United States that could replace the subject articles if excluded; whether the complainant, its licensees, or third-party suppliers have the capacity to replace the volume of potentially excluded articles within a commercially reasonable time; and how the requested remedial orders would impact United States consumers.

Filing Requirements and Deadlines

Written submissions on the public interest must be filed no later than the close of business eight calendar days after the date of publication of the notice in the Federal Register. Written submissions on other issues are subject to the same deadline. The complainant may file replies to any initial written submissions no later than three calendar days after the date on which those initial submissions were due.

All submissions and replies filed in response to the notice are limited to five pages in length, inclusive of attachments. Filings must be made electronically through the Commission's Electronic Document Information System (EDIS) at https://edis.usitc.gov, and submissions should reference Docket No. 3916 in a prominent place on the cover page and/or the first page. The Commission's Secretary's Office will accept only electronic filings unless an exemption is granted. Persons seeking confidential treatment of submitted documents must direct a request to the Secretary to the Commission, including a full statement of reasons, consistent with 19 CFR 201.6.

What to Watch

The initial public comment deadline falls eight calendar days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register, with complainant reply submissions due three calendar days after that initial deadline. The Commission has noted that there will be further opportunities for public interest comment after the issuance of any final initial determination in the investigation.