2016

Law Offices of Nithya Nagarajan LLC

International Trade Law & Consulting

INTERNATIONAL TRADE PRACTICE

Law Offices of Nithya Nagarajan, LLC

Internation al Trade Law an d C onsultin g

www.intl-tradelaw.com www.unotrade.com

What Makes the Law Offices of Nithya Nagarajan, LLC and UnoTrade Strategy Advisors Unique

The international trade law and consulting firms of Law Offices of Nithya Nagarajan, LLC, and Uno Trade Strategy Advisors are located in Washington, DC, near the ma jor government agencies tasked with administering the U.S. trade laws. Our focus is on the representation of companies involved in international trade legal matters either in the United States or in foreign countries. Our primary practice areas and specialization is antidumping duty law and countervailing duty law investigations and administrative reviews, as well as Customs issues, Customs compliance, trade litigation and appeals, antitrust matters, market access and research and general matters of international trade law, and international commercial transactions. While several firms in Washington, DC offer international trade law assistance, our practices are unique in that we are a small, specialty law and consulting firms with a focus on international trade law and its intricacies. Our principal attorneys and consultants have worked within the government agencies and courts that handle trade remedy matters. We have represented clients in a wide variety of investigations, involving imports and exports from several different countries and have a proven track record of success in maintaining and increasing our clients ’ access to critical export markets. Furthermore, our firms respect the client’s need to be fully informed of all aspects of the case or matter in which they are involved. The firm’s members seek to work directly with the client to explain the procedures and outline the different strategies, alternatives, and risks involved at various stages of both administrative and litigation matters. We take pride in ensuring that no issue is either too minute or too difficult to be considered and understood by the client. From our perspective, the client’s needs are primary and accordingly the client must be respected and fully informed. Our legal professionals and consultants provide efficient and high quality service at a fraction of the cost of larger firms. Due to our focus and direct contact on all issues with the client, our clients have always been very pleased with our services. At the same time, the experience and specialization of the firm and its low overhead permit us to provide top tier services at a reasonable cost. This makes legal representation in complex antidumping and countervailing cases affordable to many importers and exporters who otherwise could not afford the high costs involved in defending trade remedy proceedings. Our clients range from large international companies to small, family-owned businesses. We enjoy gaining first-hand knowledge of the products and industries we have represented, as well as getting to know our clients, each with a unique set of concerns and issues.

Law Offices of Nithya Nagarajan, LLC International Trade Law and Consulting

Our Experience Our combined 40+ years of experience includes proceedings under the following antidumping and countervailing duty orders and investigations and countries: Products Aluminum Extrusions Ammonium Nitrate Anti-Friction Bearings Aramid Fiber Formed of Poly Para-Phenylene Terephthalamide Boltless Shelving Brake Rotors Brass Sheet and Strip Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod Carbon Steel Flat Products Cased Pencils Cast Iron Pipe Fittings Coated Free Sheet Paper Color Negative Photographic Paper Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel Flat Products Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate Cut-to-Length Steel Plate Drill Pipe Fresh Garlic Gray Portland Cement and Clinker Hand Trucks Hardwood Flooring High Pressure Steel Cylinders Honey Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Coil Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products Hot-Rolled Flat-Rolled Carbon-Quality Steel Products Industrial Nitrocellulose Industrial Phosphoric Acid Industrial Roller Chain Iron Construction Castings Ironing Tables Kitchen Appliance Shelving & Racks Lemon Juice Lined Paper Products Multi-Layered Wood Flooring Mushrooms Pasta Passenger and Light Vehicle Truck Tires Polytetrafluoroethylene Off-the-Road Pneumatic Tires Oil Country Tubular Goods Petroleum Wax Candles Polyester Staple Fiber Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags Polyethylene Terephthalate Film Sheet and Strip Shrimp Silicon Metal Silica Bricks and Shapes Solid Urea Sparklers Stainless Steel Bar Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings Stainless Steel Plate Stainless Steel Plate in Coils Standard Steel Fasteners Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bars Steel Nails Steel Rails Steel Wire Garment Hangers Sugar Sulfanilic Acid Tapered Roller Bearings Televisions Welded Steel Pipe Wooden Bedroom Furniture

Countries Argentina Belgium Brazil Canada Chile China Ecuador Finland Germany India Indonesia Italy Japan Korea Malaysia Mexico Moldova New Zealand Netherlands Russia Sweden Taiwan Thailand Trinidad & Tobago Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Vietnam

www.intl-tradelaw.com www.unotrade.com

Law Offices of Nithya Nagarajan, LLC

Internation al Trade Law an d C onsultin g

www.intl-tradelaw.com www.unotrade.com

Antidumping Duty Proceedings

An antidumping duty investigation is a unique and complex litigation that most companies will never have experienced. The investigation is conducted by the U.S. government with numerous tight deadlines, unique and difficult information requests, and particular data requirements specialized to this kind of proceeding. In addition, these cases involve on-site scrutiny by U.S. government officials with an ever-present possibility of punitive assumptions being made where data is incomplete or insufficiently verifiable. The defense of an antidumping duty investigation requires substantial effort and expense by the companies involved. There are two stages to an investigation which are conducted by two separate U.S. government agencies. (1) The first is an investigation of sales and prices in the United States and Indian domestic market as well as the costs of production for the manufactured product, to establish whether U.S. prices are below the “normal value” -- which is the definition of dumping. This phase of the proceeding is conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC). (2) The second is an investigation of whether the imports at issue cause material injury to the U.S. industry. This phase of the investigation is conducted by the International Trade Commission (ITC) and is discussed separately in the section on ITC Investigations. The ITC’s task is to establish the existence of injury to the U.S. industry caused by the imports of the product into the United States. The essential issues in the ITC's investigation are whether the U.S. industry is materially injured (or threatened with material injury) and whether the allegedly dumped imports are a cause of that injury. The ITC performs its investigation in two stages: a preliminary stage, which begins immediately after a case is initiated, and a final stage, which takes place after the DOC has done its investigation. The DOC’s task is to establish the actual price and/or cost differential that would result in a dumping margin which is then assessed as a cash deposit at the time of entry. It also performs its investigation in two stages: a preliminary stage which occurs approximately 120-180 days after the case is initiated, and a final stage, which occurs approximately 12 months after the case is initiated. The DOC’s focus is to determine the price and/or cost differential (as articulated in the chart below) which under trade remedy laws constitutes dumping:

Law Offices of Nithya Nagarajan, LLC

Internation al Trade Law an d C onsultin g

www.intl-tradelaw.com www.unotrade.com

Both agencies must make affirmative determinations in order for the investigatory process to be completed and an antidumping order on all future imports to be instituted. For the best results, each stage of the aforementioned process requires legal experts and consultants that specialize in this area and have experience with the complicated U.S. antidumping regulations and reporting requirements. Failure to retain experienced professionals when confronted with an antidumping allegation significantly increases the odds that the company under investigation will be assigned a high antidumping duty on its exports to the U.S. thereby severely limiting access to the critical U.S. market.

Price

Dumping Margin U.S. Export Price

Normal Value

Home

Market Price

Cost of

Production

Law Offices of Nithya Nagarajan, LLC

Internation al Trade Law an d C onsultin g

www.intl-tradelaw.com www.unotrade.com

Countervailing Duty Proceedings A U.S. anti-subsidy countervailing duty (CVD) investigation is usually conducted in conjunction with an antidumping (AD investigation) and is unlike any other litigation that most companies will have experienced. The DOC decides whether a company is receiving unlawful host government subsidies, and if so, imposes the countervailing duty rate that must be deposited for future imports. In a CVD investigation, the DOC examines the government programs and benefits the company has availed itself of, and determines whether they are permissibly general, or impermissibly specific to that industry. If they are found to be unlawful, a duty is imposed in the amount of the subsidy. The subsidy percentage is determined using the following calculations:

The CVD investigation process is similar to the antidumping duty process in that it is a 2-stage process with a preliminary and final stage at the ITC as well as a preliminary and final stage at the DOC. Again both agencies must make affirmative determinations in order for the investigatory process to be completed and an countervailing duty order on all future imports to be instituted. The DOC issues various questionnaires, which require extensive responses to numerous questions. In addition, the responding company must submit computer data, for CVD, a listing of all monetary benefits received in the various government programs under investigation, all with detailed supporting documentation and explanations. For the best results, each stage of the aforementioned process requires legal experts and consultants that specialize in this area and have experience with the complicated U.S. antidumping regulations and reporting requirements. Failure to retain experienced professionals when confronted with an antidumping allegation significantly increases the odds that the company under investigation will be assigned a high antidumping duty on its exports to the U.S. thereby severely limiting access to the U.S. market.

Export Subsidy % =

Total Benefit / Total Export Sales

General Subsidy % =

Total Benefit / Total Sales

Duty Drawback Subsidy %

= Total Benefit / Total

Export Sales

NITHYA NAGARAJAN, Attorney nithya@intl-tradelaw.com Washington, DC T (1) 202 656 2448 Practice Areas Trade Remedies

Non-Tariff Barriers Section 337 Customs

Nithya Nagarajan is located in Washington, DC. Together with other legal professional and consultants located across the globe, she provides, in-depth international trade law and international trade consulting experience with United States trade issues, as well as legal expertise related to international trade issues in China and India. Ms. Nithya Nagarajan has extensive experience on all levels of antidumping duty law and countervailing duty law proceedings in the United States and in several other countries. She specializes in legal advising and strategy related with trade remedy matters. Nithya has over 20 years of extensive experience on all levels of trade remedies proceedings. Nithya has led and participated in numerous trade remedy proceedings conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Ministry of Commerce in the People’s Republic of China, as well as the proceedings before the European Commission. Nithya also is a licensed U.S. Customs Broker which aids her in advising U.S. importers facing the burdens of issues related to the collection and assessment of duties before the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection. She has advised companies located in the United States, India, China, Argentina, Canada, and Japan among others. Her industry knowledge extends to companies in the steel, chemicals, agriculture, wood products, industrial and consumer goods industries. Nithya’s extensive experience with trade remedies stems from her 15 years of work for the U.S. government in various trade remedy enforcement agencies. As a senior trade analyst at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Import Administration, she had primary responsibility for formulating information requests, analyzing data submitted by mandatory respondents, and calculating antidumping duty and countervailing duty margins. Nithya also has the unique experience of having negotiated several bi-lateral trade agreements (suspension agreement or undertakings) on behalf of the Department of Commerce in the settlement of antidumping duty investigations. She is a Gold and Bronze Medal Recipient for her work on various steel cases during her tenure at the Department of Commerce. Ms. Nagarajan led several on-site verifications of companies throughout the world including, Russia, Ukraine, Japan, Mexico, India, and several European Countries. Ms. Nagarajan

Education • Doctorate of Law (JD), American University Washington College of Law • Masters in Business Administration (MBA), International Business and Finance, George Washington University • BA in Political Science and Business, George Washington University Languages English Tamil Industries Steel, Chemicals, Hardwood Plywood, Oil Country Tubular Goods, Photographic Paper, Agricultural/Food Processing, Wood Products, Industrial Chemicals and Commercial Products among others. Countries Assisted USA, India, China, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Thailand, Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Mexico, Sweden, Italy, and several others.

also trained Department of Commerce officials on the conduct of verifications. Immediately prior to starting her own practice, Ms. Nagarajan worked as an attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel for Import Administration at the Department of Commerce providing legal advice to the Import Administration in the conduct of antidumping and countervailing duty investigations and reviews. While at the Office of Chief Counsel for Import Administration, Ms. Nagarajan was the designated customs expert. She handled all inquiries regarding the nexus between the calculation of antidumping and countervailing duties by the Import Administration and the collection of antidumping duties by the U.S. Customs & Border Protection. In addition, she has worked as an Honors attorney for the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice for approximately three years, and worked for two years as a judicial law clerk on the U.S. Court of International Trade. Nithya has represented the United States in litigation before the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the Dispute Settlement Body at the World Trade Organization. Ms. Nagarajan holds a BA in Political Science and Business from George Washington University, an MBA in International Business and Finance from George Washington University, and her JD from American University, Washington College of Law. She is admitted to practice in Maryland; before all U.S. Federal Government Agencies; and at the Court of International Trade.

JAMES BREEDEN, Economist james@unotrade.com

Washington, DC T (1) 202 294 1607

Practice Areas Trade Remedies Non-Tariff Barriers

James is a founding member and managing partner of UNO and is head of the Washington, DC office. James specializes in the economic analysis and financial and cost accounting issues associated with trade remedy matters. He has participated extensively in trade remedy proceedings conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Departamento de Defesa Comercial (Brazil), the Ministry of Commerce (People's Republic of China), the Ministry of Commerce & Industry (India) and the European Commission. Based on his extensive knowledge of government laws, regulations and practices, James has developed systematic and proven methodologies for providing assistance to companies involved in trade remedy proceedings. James has advised companies located in the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, China, Belgium, France, Korea, Indonesia, India, Japan and Thailand among others. He has experience working with companies in the steel, chemical, agriculture, textile, forestry, automotive and consumer good industries. James has also participated as an expert in trade remedy seminars conducted in Vietnam and China.

James worked for three years at the U.S. Department of Commerce as a case analyst in the Office of Antidumping/Countervailing Duty Enforcement in which he was responsible for managing trade remedy proceedings, leading verifications of foreign respondents and modeling dumping margin programs using SAS software. While at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Mr. Breeden was recognized for his contribution to the antidumping and countervailing duty regulations published in 1998.

Prior to joining Uno, James worked at the economic consulting firm ITR LLC for ten years where he held the position of Senior Manager. His responsibilities included managing project teams in the collection and development of clients’ sales and cost information required by the U.S. Department of Commerce and foreign governments and supervising the analysis of market-specific pricing information and cost of production information in order to estimate potential antidumping duty liability.

Mr. Breeden holds a BA in History from Southern Methodist University and a Masters in International Business Studies from the University of South Carolina.

Education • Masters degree in International BusinessStudies, University of South Carolina • BA in History, Southern Methodist University(Phi Beta Kappa)

Languages English Portuguese

Industries Steel, Agricultural/Food Processing, Wood Products, Industrial Chemicals, Rubber and Plastic, Footwear, Textiles and Automotive among others.

Countries Assisted USA, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea, France, Germany, Belgium, Mexico and Colombia.

SCOTT HOLLAND, Consultant, Uno Trade Strategy Advisors scottjholland68@gmail.com

Hong Kong T (852) 5134 6068 Practice Areas Trade Remedies

Customs

Scott Holland is located in Hong Kong. Together with other legal professional and consultants located across the globe, he provides in-depth international trade consulting experience with United States trade issues, as well as consulting expertise related to international trade issues in China and Vietnam. Mr. Holland has extensive experience on all levels of antidumping duty law and countervailing duty law proceedings in the United States. He specializes in advising and strategy related with trade remedy matters. Scott has over 12 years of extensive experience on all levels of trade remedies proceedings. Scott has led and participated in numerous trade remedy proceedings conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Ministry of Commerce in the People’s Republic of China. He has advised companies located in the United States, India, China, Vietnam and Japan among others. His industry knowledge extends to companies in the steel, chemicals, agriculture, industrial and consumer goods industries. Scott’s extensive experience with trade remedies stems from his 12 years of work for the U.S. government and a private law firm located in Washington, D.C. As a senior trade analyst at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Import Administration, he had primary responsibility for formulating information requests, analyzing data submitted by mandatory respondents, and calculating antidumping duty and countervailing duty margins. Mr. Holland led several on-site verifications of companies throughout the world including, China, India, Vietnam, Thailand, and Canada. Mr. Holland also trained Department of Commerce officials on the conduct of verifications. Following his career at the Department of Commerce, Scott held the position of trade analyst at the law firm of Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt, & Mosle LLP in Hong Kong. His responsibilities included managing project teams in the collection and development of clients’ sales and cost information required by the U.S. Department of Commerce and foreign governments and supervising the analysis of market-specific pricing information and cost of production information in order to estimate potential antidumping duty liability. Mr. Holland holds a BA in Economics from the University of Colorado and an MA in International Economics and Finance from Brandeis University.

Education

Masters in International Economics and Finance (MA), Brandeis University

BA in Economics, University of Colorado Languages English Russian Industries Steel, Chemicals, Oil Country Tubular Goods, Agricultural Products, Seafood Products, and Commercial Products among others. Countries Assisted USA, India, China, Indonesia, Canada, Thailand, Japan, Germany, Italy, and several others.