International Trade

Overview

Arent Fox represents and advises US, non-US and government entities in a broad range of cross-border matters, including customs/import compliance, global trade policy, international trade litigation, export controls and sanctions, and international anti-corruption and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

In addition to leveraging the skills of the attorneys in our Washington, New York and Los Angeles offices, the international trade group oversees a network of foreign correspondent counsel, upon which it routinely calls to assist clients in local matters in other countries.

»Click here to download the International Trade Services Brochure

Customs/Import Compliance

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) occupies a critical position in the supply chain of every business that imports; uses or relies on imported parts, materials or components; or exports to foreign markets. Arent Fox, with our team of experienced private practitioners and former government officials, has a long history of helping clients to manage and improve their import and export processes, to understand and comply with the laws and regulations administered by CBP, and to respond to seizures, detentions, investigations, audits and penalty proceedings—all with a common goal: to minimize interruption of the supply chain and avoid costly penalties, sanctions and port delays. Our services include:

• Enforcement of trade and customs laws: We serve as trusted customs and import counsel for numerous US and non-US companies that call us for immediate assistance on matters ranging from relief from detentions and seizures to advice on tariff classification, customs valuation and country-of-origin requirements.
• Duty reduction: Arent Fox achieves millions of dollars in savings for importers, from the use of duty reduction and free trade agreement (e.g., NAFTA) strategies to penalty avoidance, elimination or mitigation.
• Audits: We represent companies in customs audits (e.g., focused assessments) by developing strategies based on the specific needs and objectives of the importer being audited.
• Self-assessments, counseling, compliance: Our lawyers help clients perform self-assessments of their import processes and customs transactions by applying risk-based approaches tailored to their unique needs and priorities.

Global Trade Policy

The promises of the global marketplace are increasingly difficult to realize with an ever-growing number of international trade and investment agreements and a dizzying array of potentially trade-distorting laws, regulations and policies adopted around the world. Arent Fox’s global trade policy practice presents a seamless team of international trade and regulatory attorneys and government relations professionals. Our team assists clients in achieving their international trade goals using various tools and techniques, including:

• Legislative and administrative advocacy: Arent Fox’s global trade policy team assists governments, industry coalitions and large and small companies in nearly every sector—manufacturing, services, technology and financial—to achieve their trade objectives by advocating on their behalf with the right people.
• Trade negotiations: We have experience negotiating the agreements that regulate today’s global marketplace, including the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements (antidumping, safeguards and countervailing measures), NAFTA, Biosafety Protocol and numerous international intellectual property agreements.
• Trade compliance, market access and preference programs: Our team advises foreign governments on acceding to, or implementing obligations under, various international trade agreements. We develop and execute strategies for industry coalitions and companies to secure and expand their markets using international agreements and mechanisms such as WTO antidumping, safeguards and subsidies as well as countervailing measures agreements, GSP and other trade preference programs, international regulation of biotechnology, anti-counterfeiting efforts, and Section 301 proceedings conducted by the Office of the US Trade Representative.
• International dispute resolution: Our team members’ experience includes representing the US government in dispute settlement proceedings as former government attorneys. We also represent non-US governments, industry coalitions and individual companies in international disputes arising under the WTO, NAFTA and other international trade and investment agreements.

International Trade Litigation

Arent Fox was one of the first major law firms in the United States to develop a substantial international trade litigation practice. Today we are among the largest, most active international trade litigation practices, with clients drawn from every point on the compass from a variety of industries, including raw and processed agriculture and aquaculture to building materials, machinery and equipment, energy sourcing, automotive, chemical, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and telecommunications. Some of the services we provide to clients in these industries with regard to international trade regulation and litigation are:

• Bilateral and multilateral agreements: We counsel non-US companies and US importers and exporters on the statutes and regulations affecting international commerce, including bilateral and multilateral agreements as they apply to trade remedies such as including antidumping and countervailing duties and safeguards.
• Administrative proceedings: Arent Fox represents clients in antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings (both market and nonmarket economy) and safeguards before the US International Trade Commission and the Department of Commerce as well as before non-US administrative agencies with respect to trade remedy proceedings instituted against US and third-country exporters.
• US Court of International Trade and US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: We vigorously litigate matters in the US Court of International Trade and the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
• Generalized system of preferences: We counsel clients in the preferential tariff treatment available under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and assist clients when they are reviewed under the GSP.
• Section 301 proceedings: Arent Fox attorneys have represented clients before the Office of the US Trade Representative when it has conducted Section 301 proceedings.

Export Controls and Economic Sanctions

Arent Fox offers a full-service export trade practice and advises clients on US and international trade controls requirements with an emphasis on compliance, counseling and controversy management. We advise on registration, licensing, classification of products, commodity jurisdiction of products, commercial products modified for military applications, and defense services. Our team helps clients develop comprehensive programs to ensure export control compliance. We assist in audits and counsel on issues such as whether and how to make voluntary disclosures. Aided by our white collar defense team of former US prosecutors, we routinely assist clients with government investigations and inquiries, ranging from visits and letters to subpoenas and search warrants. Specific areas of practice include:

• Dual-use export controls: We advise on all aspects of US and non-US export control and multilateral control regimes, including use of No License Required (NLR) and license exceptions, encryption, deemed exports, diversion risks; proliferation concerns, de minimis and foreign direct product rules; and export documentation requirements (SED/AES) under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and Census Regulations.
• Defense trade controls: We advise clients on all aspects of compliance with the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).
• Embargoes and sanctions: We advise US and non-US clients on compliance with the full range of US and multilateral economic sanctions and embargoes administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) against countries such as Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Sudan and other sanctioned countries.
• Other export controls and proliferation sanctions: We also counsel on Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations on the export of nuclear equipment material, and technology; regulations of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (BATFE); and other countries’ export regulations.
• US antiboycott compliance: We advise our clients on compliance with US Commerce Office of Antiboycott Compliance (OAC) regulations and the Treasury Departments’ antiboycott laws prohibiting US companies and their non-US affiliates from participating in unsanctioned foreign boycotts.
• US security-related regulation: Arent Fox also assists non-US clients with inbound defense-related requirements such as filing Exon-Florio notifications with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), investing in US companies with security clearances from the Department of Defense under its Foreign Ownership or Control or Interest (FOCI) rules, and complying with The Economic Espionage Act of 1996, an act prohibiting the theft of trade secrets.

International Anti-Corruption and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)

Arent Fox attorneys have extensive knowledge and experience assisting clients to conduct business internationally while abiding by the FCPA, anti-money laundering laws and an ever-growing number of international anti-corruption conventions. Our anti-corruption team includes veteran international counselors on FCPA, anti-money laundering and related issues, government contract specialists with foreign contracting background and collateral consequences of an enforcement action, and several former prosecutors with first-hand knowledge of the challenges presented by these enforcement actions.

We have handled more than a dozen significant FCPA matters across multiple industry sectors and geographic regions, including Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Some of the services we provide to clients are:

• Compliance training and program development: Our attorneys work closely with clients, large and small to develop customized education and compliance programs. Our programs emphasize teaching employees the fundamentals of the FCPA and other international anti-corruption laws; helping them to recognize red flags that could indicate a problem is afoot; and teaching them practical tactics to deal with third-party agents, contractors, and foreign officials who might be prone to unethical behavior.
• Counseling: We provide our clients with advice and solutions in real-time to ensure that their business operations can go forward while minimizing risk and staying within the boundaries of the law.
• Controversy: The agencies responsible for FCPA enforcement, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), have announced an unprecedented number of investigations in recent years, many involving some of the world's largest and most respected companies. We conduct internal investigations for corporate management, corporate boards and audit committees, both in response to the discovery of a potential problem and in anticipation of a voluntary disclosure or a possible DOJ or SEC investigation.