Nairobi Protocol

The Court of International Trade has taken an interesting hard look at the Nairobi Protocol to the Florence Agreement on the Importation of Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Materials, which is popularly known as just the Nairobi Protocol. For purposes of Sigvaris, Inc. v. United States, the important point is that the Nairobi Protocol permits duty-free entry to the United States for articles that are specially designed or adapted for the use or benefit of the blind or other physically or mentally handicapped persons. The merchandise at issue here is graduated compression hosiery, arm-sleeves, and gauntlets.

The merchandise is all designed to apply a certain amount of pressure the extremities to help prevent the pooling of blood or other fluids as might happen in people with certain vascular and lymph conditions. The hosiery was designed for use by people with early stage chronic venous disease. The arm sleeves and gauntlets were for people with lymphedema, which causes sever swelling in the arms and is common among women who have undergone a mastectomy.

I’m going to jump to the conclusion here. Legally, a person is said to be handicapped if they have a chronic or permanent condition that results in substantial difficulty undertaking the basic activities of life such as caring for one’s self, walking, speaking, seeing, learning or working. People with early stage chronic vascular disease can experience leg fatigue, heaviness in the legs, varicose veins, and swelling. But, 25% of sufferers experience no symptoms and those that experience symptoms do not have trouble completing basic life tasks. Thus, people with early stage chronic vascular disease are not handicapped for purposes of the law. The hosiery, therefore, is not entitled to duty-free entry under the Nairobi Protocol.

The result is different for lymphedema, which is the inability to circulate lymph fluid. It can result in pain, swelling, and ulcerations. The swelling can be so severe that it results in the inability of the patient to use the affected arm. That is, according to the Court, a handicap. As a result, the compression arm sleeves and gauntlets qualify for duty-free entry under the Nairobi protocol.

That is all well and good. It makes perfect sense and is a good analysis for anyone thinking of using the Nairobi Protocol.

Despite that, I keep returning to a single line in the decision. That line states: “The Court does not give credible weight to the Government’s assertion that a person with one arm is able to perform life’s major activities without substantial limitation.”

I don’t think I have ever written a blog post in which I have criticized a lawyer’s argument. I am hesitant to do so here. But, I really want to explore how that argument got into the briefs. I understand the factually correct assertion that people with one arm are fully capable of independent living. Two things about that fact, though, bear consideration. First, much of that independence may be facilitated by apparatus that would qualify for duty-free entry under the Nairobi Protocol. This would be true, for example, of prosthetic limbs (but not parts thereof). The existence of other Nairobi Protocol material should not undercut the ability of these products to qualify for duty-free importation.

Assuming the argument was that a person with one arm can live and work independently without any mechanical or other technological support, one should wonder what evidence for this proposition the Government provided.

Let’s be 100% clear. I am in no way, shape, or form implying that people with a physical challenge cannot live independent lives without external support. I am also not saying that there are no examples of successful and independent one-armed people. There are. All I am saying, and all the Court said, is that it is not credible to argue that a person with one arm does not have a permanent condition that causes substantial difficulty completing basic life tasks. As I type this post in the cramped quarters of American Airlines coach class, I am struck by the difficulty presented by the prospect of typing with one hand. Dragging a suitcase through an airport with only one arm would make it impossible to simultaneously use a smart phone or carry a drink in the other hand, as is the ubiquitous condition in modern airports. Riding a bike can be done with one hand, but two is far easier and safer. While I think I could drive easily with one arm, I learned just yesterday that I can barely change a tire with two perfectly good arms when one lug bolt is 80% stripped (but that is another story). I am sure that monitoring my daily activities would lead to a long list of tasks that would be far more difficult without two good arms.

My question about this stands: how did it get into the brief? Giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, was there some more subtle argument that was not well conveyed in the opinion? The opinion is thorough, so that does not seem to be the case. Was it the best argument available given the fact that lymphedema sometimes results in the inability to use an arm? If so, did the Department of Justice just go along with Customs and Border Protection’s views?

This matters because it goes to the nature of the relationship between lawyers and clients and to the public policy of the United States. Lawyers sometimes need to tell their clients that the best argument is not good enough, that the law does not support the reality the client wants. That can be a hard conversation, but hard conversations are part of the job. This is, I think, true for all lawyers but especially so for those lawyers who have the privilege of representing the United States government. While a private party, with a purely financial interest in securing a duty refund, might take a shot at a weak argument, the United States should be pursuing arguments that support the policy objectives of the United States while also preserving and protecting the revenue. It is hard to see how proffering the argument that having one good arm is not a handicap that merits the relatively minor impact on the American economy of duty-free access to the market is good public policy.

I would be very happy to be talked out this position. Is there some issue of international harmonization at stake? Is there some evidence of actual fraud? If you have insight into the reasoning, please drop a comment.