Nissan Motor v. USA

Running head: NISSAN MOTOR V. USA
Nissan Motor v. USA
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NISSAN MOTOR V. USA1
Executive Summary:
The aim of this paper was to determine what implications domestic cases and disputes
can have on the regulations given by the international laws. In this paper, the Nissan case has
been explained in depth with the stands taken by both sides represented in the case. The
defence given by Nissan was heavily reliant on the past ruling of the Hawaiian case, with
little to no consideration given to the specific details and implications of the language in the
Act to what the consequences could be. The paper also explains how this case has impacted
the rulings of International law and how no other country could have intervened in the
situation because the US Customs’ case presented to be relatively stronger than that of
Nissan’s.

NISSAN MOTOR V. USA2
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Prosecutor’s Case.......................................................................................................................4
Nissan’s Defence........................................................................................................................5
The Verdict.................................................................................................................................6
Limitations of the Verdict:.....................................................................................................6
Significance on International Law.............................................................................................7
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................8
References:.................................................................................................................................9

NISSAN MOTOR V. USA3
Introduction
The case of Nissan Motor v. USA is about the judgment declared by the United States
Court of International Trade stating that Nissan was making use of as well as holding
machinery that was imported from Japan into a foreign trading zone subzone. The US
Customs Laws had stated that these machines were being used for production purposes as
well as were subject to experiencing duty charges.
The establishment of a foreign trade zone is to designate areas within the country that will
not be considered to be under the territory of that country, and hence outside the zone of the
Customs Duty. As a result, any foreign merchandise can be brought into those specified
zones without the organization bringing them in having to pay any money in duty (Qurashi
and Luqmani 2015). These zone are legally authorized by the government of that country and
are allowed to be used for purposes such as assembling, repackaging as well as the storing of
foreign merchandise (Qurashi and Luqmani 2015). It is important to note that the fact that
Nissan was operating in a subzone added a layer of more requirements as these types of zones
are inherently independent of the foreign trade zone and it is only authorized for specific
purposes while being able to retain the benefits that come from a free trade zone. The activity
in the subzone is usually only carried out by one specific company (Qurashi and Luqmani
2015).
The machinery that Nissan imported into the subzone was consisted of highly automated
as well as the integrated systems along with automated conveyor systems, all of which were
required to be operated by a computerized interface. Since Nissan executives were aware that
they would be operating in the subzone, they had requested a ruling from the Customs
department of the US for their obligation regarding the applicable duties to be charged on the
machinery that they were bringing in (USITC, 1984).