Michelle Li

Michelle Li is a partner in PLG’s International Trade practice. She advises U.S. and international companies on complex trade remedy, customs, importation, and trade enforcement matters, helping clients navigate the regulatory requirements and business challenges associated with bringing products into and competing in the U.S. market. 

Michelle has significant experience representing domestic and foreign producers, importers, and other businesses in antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings. She has represented producers of products including softwood lumber, frozen warmwater shrimp, glycine, organic soybean meal, steel products, and other goods before the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. International Trade Commission, U.S. Court of International Trade, and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Her practice also includes Section 301 tariff matters, Section 337 investigations, tariff classification issues, and trade enforcement and anti-evasion proceedings before U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

In addition to her trade remedies practice, Michelle counsels clients on customs and importation issues involving products regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission. She assists companies with import entry and clearance matters, product seizures and other enforcement issues, and regulatory compliance involving food, drug, medical, tobacco, and consumer products.  

Michelle also brings extensive experience advising companies in the electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and e-liquid industries. She counsels manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers on regulatory compliance, premarket tobacco applications, marketing and distribution requirements, and related trade and import matters. 

Representative Experience

• Represented U.S. producers of glycine, softwood lumber, shrimp, and steel nails in antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings, including successfully assisting the domestic industry in investigations involving more than $5 billion in Canadian softwood lumber imports before the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. International Trade Commission.
• Represented foreign producers of steel pipe, calcium hypochlorite, and plastic bags in antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings.
• Assisted a manufacturer of children’s products in responding to a Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) notice of violation involving stop-sale requests, recalls, and seizures of imported products valued at millions of dollars. Developed comprehensive reconditioning plans that ultimately secured rare CPSC approval to recondition the goods after the agency initially rejected the request.
• Represented importers and distributors in Section 337 patent infringement investigations before the U.S. International Trade Commission involving a major electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) device manufacturer.
• Represented importers in litigation challenging Section 301 tariffs before the U.S. Court of International Trade.
• Successfully represented a client in Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) anti-evasion investigations.
• Assisted importers with petitions seeking relief from U.S. Customs and Border Protection seizures.
• Represented importers seeking new Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) classifications before the Committee for Statistical Annotation of the Tariff Schedules (484(f) Committee), which includes representatives of the U.S. International Trade Commission, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Census Bureau.
• Advised clients in the steel and e-cigarette industries on Section 232 and Section 301 tariff exclusion requests.
• Secured dismissal on federal preemption grounds of claims alleging that a client’s vapor product marketing violated the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act based on the absence of an FDA marketing order resulting from a premarket tobacco application. Yimam v. Mylé Vape, Inc., Case No. 2019 CA 008050 B, 2020 D.C. Super. LEXIS 7 (D.C. Sup. Ct. June 11, 2020).
• Counseled domestic and international ENDS device and e-liquid manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers on regulatory compliance matters.
• Advised manufacturers on the preparation of premarket tobacco applications (PMTAs) and related marketing and distribution matters, including marketing plans, post-market surveillance plans, and distribution agreements.