Eric C. Emerson

Partner

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Areas of Work

Trade Remedies, Trade Policy & Negotiations, Customs

Overview

For more than 30 years, Eric Emerson has represented clients across a full range of international trade proceedings in the United States, China, and around the world. Eric is individually ranked by Chambers, which describes him as "extremely personable, very quick, very smart and very good in negotiations."

Eric specializes in representing clients in antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) proceedings covering a full range of products and industries. In these cases, he has represented clients from around the world before the US Department of Commerce and the US International Trade Commission in some of the largest and most difficult cases heard by those agencies. For example, Eric was a key member of the legal team representing USEC Inc. (now Centrus Energy Inc.) in a proceeding that ultimately resulted in the first US Supreme Court decision in an AD/CVD case, in which Steptoe’s client achieved a unanimous victory. Eric has also worked with clients in non-US proceedings, including those conducted by Chinese, Brazilian, and Indian authorities.

In addition to AD/CVD proceedings, Eric has represented clients in the full range of other trade remedy proceedings, such as obtaining exclusions from tariffs imposed on imports from China under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. He has advised clients involved in investigation and enforcement proceedings conducted by US Customs and Border Protection, and works closely with Steptoe’s Government Affairs and Public Policy Group to achieve client goals through lobbying activities and other public policy efforts. He has also supported clients in the M&A context by conducting trade-focused due diligence in connection with proposed transactions.

A significant focus of Eric's practice involves assisting clients doing business in or with China. From 2009-2014, Eric lived in Beijing, where he established and later managed Steptoe's office. Through that experience, as well as his prior service as General Counsel to the American Chamber of Commerce in China and his current role as Counsel to the US-China Business Council, Eric has developed a solid understanding of the issues affecting multinational companies operating in China. One of his clients told Chambers, "Eric has a first-rate understanding of the commercial and government worlds of China and other Asian countries."

Eric is a principal contributor to the firm’s Global Trade Policy Blog, and for five years served as a co-leader of the firm’s International Trade and Regulatory Compliance Group. He also served as a Co-Chair of the International Trade Committee of the International Bar Association.

District of Columbia
Illinois

J.D., University of Virginia School of Law, 1991, Executive Editor, Virginia Journal of International Law
B.A., University of Iowa, 1986, with honors and with distinction; Phi Beta Kappa

Representative Matters

Achieved a unanimous final negative injury determination from the US International Trade Commission in the high profile US AD/CVD investigation of Urea Ammonium Nitrate (UAN) from Russia and Trinidad & Tobago.
Achieved a rare final negative determination from the US Department of Commerce in the antidumping investigation of Wood Mouldings and Millwork Products from Brazil, allowing our client to avoid the imposition of an antidumping duty order altogether.
Represented the Government of Canada in the high profile US AD investigation of 100- to 150-Seat Large Civil Aircraft from Canada. Helped secure a rare unanimous "no injury" determination from the ITC.
Achieved a unanimous negative final injury determination in an AD/CVD investigation of Melamine from Trinidad and Tobago before the ITC.
Represented a Chinese producer of intermodal shipping containers in an AD/CVD investigation of 53-Foot Domestic Dry Containers from China that ended with a unanimous negative final injury determination before the ITC.
Represented the sole US producer of enriched uranium in a variety of AD/CVD proceedings against imports of enriched uranium from Russia and Western Europe, culminating in a 9-0 victory in the first antidumping duty decision ever issued by the US Supreme Court.
Represented a prominent European automobile manufacturer in the Chinese AD/CVD investigation into US auto imports before the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (MOFCOM). In this complex case, our client received one of the most favorable outcomes.

Speaking Engagements

"The Ins and Outs of CBP's UFLPA Compliance, Due Diligence and Documentation Requirements: A Thorough, Step-by-Step Review and Analysis of Grey Areas," ACI's 13th Advanced Forum on Import Compliance & Enforcement, November 19, 2024
"Dao Models Itself After Nature: China and the Americas - the Potential and the Limits," IBA Annual Conference, Mexico City, September 17, 2024
"Asia's Trade Pacts: Acronyms, Acrimony & Optimism?" Asia/Pacific Conference: Law and Technology in a Changing World, Seoul, Korea, October 11, 2023
"Certainty and Uncertainty: the New Trends and Opportunities of China Outbound Investment in the World," IBA Annual Conference, November 1, 2022
"Taking Stock of US Relations Post-Election: The View from DC and Hong Kong," AmCham Webinar, November 9, 2020
"US Relations with China and Hong Kong: An Update from Inside the Beltway," AmCham HK Law Committee webinar, July 2020
"US and Retaliatory Tariffs: Compliance and Mitigation; Reducing Tariff Liability When Importing and Exporting Goods," Strafford webinar, September 12, 2019
"The US-China Trade War: Country of Origin, Substantial Transformation, and Risk Mitigation," Strafford Publications webinar, December 12, 2018
"The Opportunities and Challenges in China's New Era: Market, Law and Culture," IBA Annual Conference, Rome, Italy, October 10, 2018
Moderator, "Searching for Reciprocity: Section 301 and the Future of US-China Trade," Global Business Dialogue, Washington, DC, April 25, 2018
Moderator, "Adapting and Implementing International Trade Strategies in a Time of Uncertainty," IBA Investing in Asia Conference, New York, NY, December 7, 2017
"Competition Issues in Trade Agreements: How Is It Working and Where Can It Go," IBA Annual Conference, Sydney, Australia, October 9, 2017
"Status of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigations on Steel Imports," National Coil Coating Association Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, April 18, 2016
"Key Policy Issues in US-China Economic Relations," 6th China Business Conference, Washington, DC, April 28, 2015
"The View from Washington," 2015 APCAC Business Summit, Singapore, March 11, 2015