International Trade and Compliance
Export and Compliance: Our lawyers assist with export control, licensing and compliance involved in the export of U.S. products under the Export Administration Act and Regulations (EAA/EAR), the Arms Export Control Act and Regulations (AECA/ITAR), and the Foreign Assets Control Regulations. Clients also receive guidance with sanctions programs, boycott and anti-boycott regulations, and the denied and debarred persons lists.
Customs/Importation: We counsel clients in transactions involving the movement of goods, services or capital across borders. Our lawyers provide representation with respect to all laws administered by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including tariff rates, the classification and valuation of imported merchandise, bonded warehouse operations, temporary importation under bond (TIB), duty drawback, penalties, liquidated damage claims, seizures and forfeiture proceedings, country-of-origin marking and other labeling requirements, quotas and preferential tariff programs, and free trade agreements. We work with clients to conduct customs audits that identify past violations and to develop programs to promote compliance with customs laws. In addition, we help clients benefit from certain preferential trade arrangements when they are determining where to establish manufacturing operations overseas.
Trade Remedies: The U.S. has a complex system of laws governing international trade and the import of various goods. The governing statutes contain specific requirements for conducting investigations before the International Trade Commission (ITC) and the Department of Commerce (depending on the type of investigation). Counsel must have the legal and technical support necessary to deal effectively with these time demands.
We represent clients dealing with domestic and international trade regulation in the areas of anti-dumping and countervailing duties (Sections 701 and 731), import relief under the escape clause (Section 201), import infringement of patents, trademarks and copyrights (Section 337) and China safeguard investigations (Section 421). Our lawyers have practiced before the ITC and are admitted before the Court of International Trade and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA): We assist U.S. and multinational corporations in meeting their obligations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and applicable international anti-corruption conventions, including the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, the U.N. Convention Against Corruption and the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption. In addition to helping clients comply with trading regulations, we also provide representation when potential problems or violations arise.
Compliance Reviews and Audits: Our lawyers use a team approach to assist clients with conducting outside audits of existing trade compliance programs as well as the implementation of new trade compliance programs covering FCPA, customs and importation, export controls, sanctions and embargoes, and boycott/anti-boycott. This approach typically involves a documentation review, on-site audit and preparation of a report detailing target areas for improvement and a specific implementation plan.