Overview Experience Thought Leadership Outside the Office Community Leadership Trade Remedies

Nithya Nagarajan

Partner

Washington, DC
office: 202.378.2409
fax: 202.378.2319

Overview Experience Thought Leadership Outside the Office Community Leadership Trade Remedies

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Overview

Nithya’s experience working in federal government agencies provides critical perspective as she advises clients on U.S. trade and trade remedies.

Her previous roles at the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Court of International Trade give Nithya an insider’s perspective as she counsels clients on administrative and regulatory acts before Commerce, the International Trade Commission and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Nithya also defends appeals in the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, NAFTA panels and the World Trade Organization.

Nithya’s focus is trade-remedy strategy and antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings. She has deep experience with all levels of trade remedy proceedings, having led and participated in numerous such proceedings conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Ministry of Commerce in the People’s Republic of China, the DGFT in India and the European Commission. She has conducted trade consultations and negotiations with foreign governments including India, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia and Ukraine, and negotiated several bilateral trade agreements (suspension agreement or undertakings) on behalf of the Department of Commerce in the settlement of antidumping duty investigations.

Nithya advises clients to choose preventive medicine instead of a bandage by calling her to avert problems when they start new investments or become mandatory respondents in trade remedy proceedings. As a licensed U.S. Customs broker, she handles classification and entry analysis, prior disclosures and protests.

Not admitted in the District of Columbia; practice limited pursuant to D.C. App. R. 49©(8), with supervision by Jeffrey S. Neeley, member of the D.C. Bar

Industries

Manufacturing

Transportation

Services

Customs

Evasion & Circumvention

Export Controls & Economic Sanctions

Government Solutions

International Trade & Supply Chain

International Trade Remedies

Supply Chain

Recognition

Gold (1997) and Bronze Medal (1998) recipient for work on various steel cases, Department of Commerce

Education

J.D., American University Washington College of Law
- cum laude
- International Law Review
- First Year Moot Court Competition, Senior Associate
M.B.A., George Washington University
- cum laude
- Business and Finance
B.A., George Washington University
- Political Science and Business

Admissions

Maryland
U.S. Court of International Trade
U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit

Professional Associations and Memberships

Customs & International Trade Bar Association, International Trade Committee, Vice Chair
American Institute for International Steel
American Bar Association
Washington International Trade Association
Women in International Trade
Indian-American Bar Association

Clerkship

Law Clerk, The Hon. Evan Wallach, U.S. Court of International Trade, 2004-2006

Languages

Tamil, fluent
French, conversant
German, conversant
Latin, conversant

Featured Case Study

Company Prevails in Three-Week Audit Over Steel Imports

When the U.S. Department of Commerce alleged that a foreign company dumped a steel product in the United States, Nithya worked hand in hand with the client to provide comprehensive sales analysis, cost analysis and full responses to the agency. She successfully guided the foreign company through a three-week onsite audit, and at the conclusion of the case, the client received a 0 percent cash deposit authorized upon entry of the accepted steel product.

Additional Experience

Trade Remedies

Represented a major exporter of Cold-Drawn Mechanical Tubing from India and obtained the lowest antidumping duty margin as compared to exporters from India and several other countries in companion cases.
Reversed adverse findings for a multinational steel exporter in administrative reviews of antidumping and countervailing duty matters before the Department of Commerce to mitigate amount of duties imposed.
Represented exporters from China, India, Mexico, and Thailand in defense of antidumping and countervailing duties.
Obtained zero margins for a Thai exporter of Glycine in ongoing antidumping and countervailing duty investigations.
Represented a U.S. importer and obtained exclusions from an ongoing antidumping and countervailing duty investigation.
Successfully obtained scope and duty exclusions for U.S. companies affected by antidumping duty and countervailing duties on High-Quality Coated Free Sheet Paper from China; Steel Cylinders from China; and Aluminum Extrusions from China.
Obtained findings of no injury for Chinese companies before the ITC involving silica bricks.
Enabled U.S. importer to obtain authorized exclusion from antidumping and countervailing duties on key component for sale of HFC refrigerant blends.
Obtained exclusion of paper products from China from scope of antidumping and countervailing duty order on high-quality coated free sheet paper from China.
Successfully demonstrated that silica bricks from China did not injure domestic industry, thereby ensuring that no antidumping duty order was instituted.
Successfully argued in Chinese dumping case that Department of Commerce should consider trading company that holds title to goods at time of export to be exporter of record because determining correct exporter of record in trade remedies cases is key issue in order to apply calculated separate rate.
Represented client in Thailand that received favorable negative preliminary antidumping determination from Department of Commerce

Customs

Successfully assisted U.S. importer in mitigating liabilities related to violation of classification and import laws.
Obtained favorable rulings for U.S. importers regarding classification of goods and country of origin concerns.
Counsel companies on customs compliance.
Obtained prior disclosures with no penalties for clients and secured binding ruling requests for Harmonized Tariff Schedule classification issues.

Tariffs

Obtained exclusions of HTS codes for U.S. importers of merchandise from China from Section 301 duties.

Thought Leadership

Blog

October Trade Newsletter

Client Result

Firm Client Receives Favorable Preliminary Antidumping Determination

Blog

Petition Summary: Polyester Textured Yarn from China and India

Blog

Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigations: Refillable Stainless Steel Kegs from Germany, Mexico, and China

Articles

Industry Week: A Closer Look at the NAFTA Replacement Deal

Blog

Senators Nelson and Rubio Introduce New Amendment for Seasonal and Regional AD/CVD Cases

Blog

United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement ("USMCA"), the NAFTA Replacement

Blog

Petition Summary: Refillable Stainless Steel Kegs from Germany, Mexico, and China

Blog

Petition Summary: Aluminum Wire and Cable from China

Blog

New Section 301 Tariffs Released with Few Exemptions Granted

View all

Outside the Office

Nithya lives her personal life with the same gusto she brings to her practice.

Nithya loves to travel all over the world—she figures she has visited 50 to 60 countries—and to eat out regularly along the way.

She relishes gourmet cooking and typically prepares Indian and Italian feasts for friends and family. Her flower garden provides colorful cuttings; her vegetable garden yields Indian delicacies for her menus such as the snake gourd.

Reading fiction and nonfiction is also a primary means of relaxation. Nithya enjoys “picking up a book and just enjoying that little bit of time when nobody is talking to me!”

Community Leadership

Nithya is a tireless volunteer leader and legal consultant for worthy organizations—some of which her family helped found.

Over the years, Nithya has devoted many hours of service to organizations that support education, faith, music and the arts. The Carnatic Music Association, of which her father was a founding member, draws Nithya because of her personal interest in Indian classical music. She also contributes considerable pro bono legal assistance and leadership at the Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, which her parents helped found.

UPAKAR – The Indian-American Scholarship Organization, Washington, D.C., Treasurer, Board Member
Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, Washington, D.C., Secretary, Board Member, pro bono assistance
Carnatic Music Association of America, New Jersey, Board of Trustees, Treasurer
Freer Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., Volunteer and Guest Speaker

Trade Remedies

Trade remedies are central to Nithya’s legal practice, and a significant portion of that work is with clients from other countries.

Nithya helps foreign clients navigate the nuances of complex duty investigations and administrative review prophecies. Her success on clients’ behalf testifies to her mastery of foreign accounting and the specific reporting requirements of the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission.

Nithya thoroughly understands clients’ businesses across a range of industries and how their products are manufactured. She knows foreign governments’ subsidy practices, accounting standards and methods of reporting financial accounting. Of paramount importance, Nithya interprets the legalese and translates the larger constructs of U.S. law into business terms, so her clients can accurately answer every question.