USITC terminates investigation on disposable e-cigarette devices after Reynolds Tobacco withdraws complaint

Key Point：

1. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has decided not to initiate a review of the termination of the 337 investigation related to disposable e-cigarette devices. The case has officially ended, as Reynolds Tobacco voluntarily withdrew its complaint.
2. The lawsuit was initiated by Reynolds Tobacco Company and its e-cigarette subsidiary in October 2023, alleging that multiple companies in the US are engaged in false advertising, misrepresentation of origin, and unfair competition practices in the sale of disposable e-cigarette products. They are seeking injunctions and prohibitions against these products.
3. Renault filed a motion to withdraw the lawsuit in January 2025. The Chief Administrative Judge granted the motion in March, ruling to terminate the investigation and reject the defendant's additional requests regarding economic compensation and future litigation restrictions. It was made clear that this termination does not impact the right to file a future appeal.

Recently, the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) issued a notice stating that they will no longer review the Chief Administrative Law Judge's (CALJ) Initial Determination (ID) to terminate the investigation of "Certain Disposable E-Cigarette Devices and Components Thereof and Packaging" (Investigation No. 337-TA-1381). This investigation has been officially terminated. The termination was based on a motion filed by the complainant, Reynolds Tobacco company (R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company) and its subsidiary R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company (RJR), to voluntarily withdraw their complaint.

The investigation was initially launched on October 13, 2023, when Reynolds Tobacco Company filed a 337 investigation application to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), claiming that the product being exported from the U.S., imported into the U.S., and sold in the U.S. violated U.S. Section 337 (false advertising, fictitious origin labels, unfair competition). Reynolds Tobacco Company requested the ITC to issue a general exclusion order or a limited exclusion order, as well as a cease and desist order.

On December 15, 2023, an investigation was initiated by the RJR based on appeals. The appeals alleged that multiple companies had violated Section 337 of the 1930 Tariff Act, causing substantial harm or threats to relevant industries in the United States. The investigation involves multiple companies from both the United States and China.

During the investigation, RJR proposed a motion on January 10, 2025 to terminate the entire investigation based on the withdrawal of the appeal. Although some defendants did not oppose the termination, they requested certain conditions to alleviate their financial burden and restrict RJR's future actions, which were not supported by the Chief Administrative Judge. The Chief Administrative Judge issued a preliminary ruling (ID, Order No. 58) on March 7, 2025 approving the termination of the investigation, but made it clear that the termination was "without prejudice" and rejected the defendants' request for additional conditions. The defendants then requested a review of the preliminary ruling by the committee, seeking to impose conditions, but the committee voted on April 8, 2025 not to conduct a review and upheld the preliminary ruling.

The committee noted in its announcement that the termination of this case could potentially lead to the appellant bringing forward similar complaints in the future. The committee stated that it is too early to determine the specific impact of this termination on future potential appeals, and they have not yet decided how the records of this investigation will be used in future inquiries.