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Nithya Nagarajan

Nithya’s extensive background in U.S. trade issues spans 25 years and includes various roles in a number of federal government agencies, including the Department of Commerce Department of Justice, and the U.S. Court of International Trade. She assists clients with administrative and regulatory actions before the Department of Commerce, International Trade Commission and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and defends clients in appeals before the Court of International Trade, Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, NAFTA panels and the World Trade Organization. In addition to her body of U.S. experience, Nithya is also well-versed in international trade issues in China and India.

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The World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement body ruled that the tariffs imposed by the U.S. on imports from China are inconsistent with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and recommended that the U.S. “bring its measures into conformity” with its obligations under the GATT.  Beginning in 2018, at the direction of President Trump, the U.S. imposed tariffs on $400 billion worth of imports from China over 4 different lists or tranches.  The U.S. and China negotiated a “phase one” trade deal earlier this year, however, most of the tariffs were still left in place.

The WTO panel concluded that the U.S. failed to demonstrate that the tariff measures are justified under Article XX(a) of the GATT 1994.  As a result, the panel found the U.S. tariff measures to be inconsistent with Articles I:1, II:1(a) and II:1(b) of GATT 1994.  In other words, the WTO found that the U.S. tariffs on China were discriminatory and excessive, and the U.S. failed to present justification for an exemption that could have legally allowed for the tariffs.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s (Commerce) Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis System (SIMA) will be modified effective October 13, 2020 to require that the country where the steel was “melted and poured” to be identified in the license application.  Other changes in the final rule published on September 11, 2020, include adding coverage for eight…

On September 10, 2020, HMTX Industries LLC, along with Halstead New England Corporation, and Metroflor Corporation (importers of vinyl tile) filed a complaint (Ct. No. 20-00177) at the Court of International Trade (CIT) challenging both the substantive and procedural processes followed by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) when instituting Section 301 Tariffs on imports…

In Husch Blackwell’s August 2020 Trade Law Newsletter, you’ll learn about the following updates in international trade and supply chain law:

  • Commerce proposed modifications to AD/CVD laws to strengthen enforcement
  • EU lifted tariffs on U.S. lobsters; U.S. agreed to limited tariff rollback on certain products
  • USTR revised list of EU imports subject to Section

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The U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) announced in a Federal Register notice that it is proposing significant changes to its antidumping and countervailing duty regulations.  The last time such sweeping changes were undertaken were in 1997 after the WTO went into effect.  Commerce is requesting comments on the proposed changes by September 14, 2020.

Among the most significant changes outlined in Commerce’s proposal are the changes to its conduct of scope proceedings, which determine whether a certain product is subject to the scope of an AD or CVD order; and to circumvention proceedings where importers are alleged to be avoiding duties, often by using components from the subject country to assemble the product in another country not subject to the relevant AD/CVD order. Currently, both types of proceedings are governed by the same set of regulations in 19 C.F.R. §351.225.  Commerce’s proposal would separate the two proceedings into unique regulatory frameworks.

On August 6, 2020, the White House issued two (2) Executive Orders (“EO”) banning the popular China-based social media app TikTok and the messaging and electronic payments app WeChat.  Both orders are scheduled to take effect in 45 days (approximately September 21, 2020). While a U.S. ban on TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., had been anticipated, especially after India banned the app earlier this year, the EO on Tencent Holding Ltd.’s (“Tencent”) WeChat was not anticipated and has significant potential business ramifications.

On August 6, 2020, the White House issued a proclamation  stating that the U.S. would re-impose 10% tariffs on imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminum under subheading 7601.10 from Canada starting August 16, 2020.  The subject products make up the majority of U.S. aluminum imports from Canada.

President Donald Trump explained that the re-imposition of tariffs…

In Husch Blackwell’s July 2020 Trade Law Newsletter, you’ll learn about the following updates in international trade and supply chain law:

  • President Trump’s Executive Order ends Hong Kong country of origin
  • USTR announces additional duties on cosmetics and handbags from France and delays the effective date until January 2021
  • An update on U.S. Department

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The United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) issued new product exclusions pertaining to the Section 301 List 4A tariffs.  The current tariff is 7.5%.  The new exclusions include 61 specific product descriptions that together cover 86 separate exclusion requests.  The full list of excluded products is available here.  According to the USTR, the product exclusions…