Customs and International Trade

The Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP Customs and International Trade Practice is a national leader in understanding the constantly changing world of international trade.  Our group has the credentials, experience and track record that has enabled our clients to exploit the opportunities and avoid the pitfalls present in the global marketplace.  We provide effective, cost-conscious legal advice on the full array of regulatory, dispute resolution, policy and corporate compliance matters that ensure our clients’ success.

The Firm's Global Trade Advisory Group (“GTAG”) complements our group of attorneys and provides deep bench strength that delivers benefits to our clients.  A division of the Firm’s Customs and International Trade practice, GTAG blends our attorneys with a broad array of trade and audit specialists and logistics professionals, to provide our clients with expert advice on wide-ranging aspects of international trade.  Our multi-disciplinary approach ensures that our clients have all the information they need – from legal advice to business resources – to make the right decisions to succeed in the international market.Trade Compliance

U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other federal agencies are stepping up their efforts to ensure that all goods, either imported into or exported from the United States, are in compliance with all U.S. rules and regulations.  The Firm focuses on helping companies design business processes and procedures that meet their policy and operational objectives and that can be easily integrated into their business practices.  With proper planning, potentially adverse customs and international trade risks can be minimized.  We assist companies in numerous compliance areas including Focused Assessments, Enforcement Matters, C-TPAT, and Prior Disclosures as well as others.

Global Compliance/Distribution/Supply Chain

The Firm recognizes that in today’s competitive global economy, it is imperative for companies to make informed sourcing decisions.  We advise clients on how to maximize duty-saving opportunities under existing preferential trade agreements and special duty programs.  In addition, the Firm counsels clients on how to cope with non-tariff trade barriers in foreign countries and lobbies for removal of trade barriers.

Cargo Security and Supply Chain Management

In the spring of 2002, U.S. Customs and Border Protection launched the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), a joint government-business initiative to strengthen importers’ supply chains and increase border security against terrorist activities.  Using the tools in the The Firm C-TPAT Solutions Kit, the Firm’s attorneys help clients successfully navigate the C-TPAT application process.  After membership is achieved, the Firm continues to assist its clients with their on-going C-TPAT compliance obligations in order to maximize the benefits available under the program.

Import Counseling

Over the past decade, the statutes and regulations governing the importation of merchandise have increased in complexity, requiring importers to keep abreast of developments.  The Firm not only assists clients in navigating the myriad of customs and international trade laws governing the importation of goods but also works with them to discover opportunities created by various trade agreements, duty preference programs and customs procedures to maximize a company’s legal compliance while minimizing exposure to duties, investigations and penalties.

Trade Remedies

Surges in imports, antidumping/countervailing duties, merchandise exclusion orders and other trade measures present potentially devastating consequences for importers and exports.  The Firm attorneys advocate client interests in the trade remedies arena before numerous government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, the U.S. International Trade Commission and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Trade Litigation

Whether as a last resort or as a preemptive measure to prevent immediate injury to our clients, litigation can be an important component to an overall trade strategy.  The Firm provides a wide range of trade litigation services, ranging from traditional customs litigation to lawsuits against other private parties.  Victories in Travenol, Inc. v. United States and Stone Container Corp. v. United States have resulted in duty and tax refunds of hundreds of millions of dollars, not just for the Firm’s clients, but for thousands of importers and exporters nationwide.

Business/Corporate Transactions

Many clients ask us to advise them regarding potential regulatory issues raised by prospective corporate transactions and business arrangements.  The Firm's attorneys are highly skilled at drafting documents and providing advice on potential regulatory issues that arise in the course of international business transactions.

Export Management

The Firm assists its clients with expanding their export markets, managing their regulatory burdens and risks, and meeting government compliance obligations.  We help by assessing unseen risks in the complex rules on exporting physical commodities and the subtle controls on sharing technology and software with foreign nationals.  We also work with our clients to identify opportunities under regulatory exceptions to export licensing requirements.

Training, Seminars and Information Services

The Firm realizes that companies require knowledgeable personnel to comply with the Customs Modernization Act’s requirements.  Importers must exercise reasonable care when they enter, classify and value imported merchandise.  In addition, recent changes in the export regulations impose greater responsibilities on parties engaging in export transactions.  The Firm has designed training seminars to match the experience level and budget of any business organization to assist companies in educating and informing in-house personnel responsible for compliance with these laws.