International Trade

International Trade Areas of Focus

Customs compliance:

• Tariff classification.
• Tariff exclusions.
• Country-of-origin declaration.
• Appeals of customs penalties.
• Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) investigations and appeals.
• Risk Analysis and Survey Assessments (RASAs).
• Classification and valuation.
• Protests, ruling requests, and customs audits.
• Prior disclosures and penalty actions.
• Foreign Trade Zones and bonded warehouse strategies.
• Applications under preference programs such as the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).
• Gray market goods and homeland security–related import issues.

Trade disputes:

• Antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations and administrative reviews.
• Scope inquiries and anti-circumvention inquiries.
• Suspension agreements.
• Section 201 safeguard actions.
• Section 301 investigations.
• Section 232 investigations.
• Strategies for mitigating, challenging, and obtaining exclusions from Section 232 and Section 301 duties.
• Litigation before the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
• Counseling on duties and tariff actions arising under Section 232, Section 301, IEEPA and related national security authorities.
• Trade-related litigation and litigation avoidance strategies.
• Supply chain counterfeiting.
• Grey market disputes.

Trade Policy & Government Engagement:

• Representation before the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. International Trade Commission, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection on matters involving trade negotiations, policy shifts, and regulatory actions.
• Strategic advice on political and policy developments affecting tariffs, trade remedies, and supply chain risk.
• Guidance informed by longstanding working relationships with government officials and staff across the Executive Branch and Congress.
• Counseling on the intersection of trade policy, national security, and regulatory enforcement (including Section 232, Section 301, and IEEPA-driven enforcement trends).

Export controls:

• ITAR & EAR compliance policies.
• Commodity jurisdiction applications.
• Export licenses and technical assistance agreements.
• Voluntary disclosures of export control violations.

Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions:

• Compliance.
• License applications.
• Voluntary disclosures.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) compliance.

Infringement of patents, trademarks, and copyrights by foreign companies.

Non-profit international activities.

• Registration under China’s foreign NGO law.
• Sanctions compliance for humanitarian organizations.

Global Perspective

Few cross-border disputes are purely legal — instead, most have a combination of legal, cultural, and political components. Taft’s multilingual team has the international experience and cross-cultural sensitivity necessary to navigate multilayered disputes and successfully negotiate with foreign parties and government officials.

Our attorneys have supported clients in matters involving markets throughout Asia, North America, Europe, and Africa, including China, Japan, Korea, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, South Africa, Italy, Türkiye, and Canada, and this work provides valuable insights into global manufacturing and supply chain dynamics. Taft maintains close relationships with trusted local counsel across the globe.  Rather than relying on satellite offices with limited staff, this allows us to efficiently put in place the best team of lawyers for your particular matter, hand-picked based on specialization, location, and cost. This approach helps Taft provide seamless service to our clients, no matter what challenges you face in activities outside of the United States.