Overview
With a presence in all global trade capitals, our international trade team provides integrated advice and works closely with other practice groups to help clients navigate this increasingly complex and evolving landscape. An integral part of the Firm for more than 30 years, we have extensive experience in every area of international trade laws and regulations, including trade remedy actions, trade policy, economic sanctions, export controls, national security (including CFIUS), product compliance and classification, customs, and trade agreements and negotiations.
We advise on trade compliance, risk mapping and audits, investigations and defense, and litigation and arbitration. Our international trade lawyers represent multinational and regional companies, including manufacturers, traders, exporters, and importers; governments; associations and other organizations; and individuals from virtually every geographic region. We advise various actors within the supply and value chains, and our broad perspective and geographic reach enable us to help businesses understand the ramifications of local, national, regional, and international trade policy and enforcement activities.
Our leading lawyers use targeted advocacy and negotiation strategies to minimize legislative or regulatory barriers to international trade, ensuring clients’ issues receive priority attention and solutions. With extensive experience on Capitol Hill and strong relationships with government decision-makers, we design strategies, lobby officials, and maintain client visibility to advance their interests.
We are innovators in this area, and our international trade team is highly regarded in the Chambers rankings for its acumen in trade remedies, trade policy, export controls, and economic sanctions, as well as our lawyers’ ability to provide “pragmatic and strategic advice.”
RELATED CAPABILITIES
Trade Remedy Actions
Our lawyers have successfully represented producers, exporters, importers, and domestic industries in antidumping, countervailing duty, safeguards, unfair import practices, unfair export practices, and other proceedings related to Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Ecuador, the EU and individual EU Member States, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and other countries. These cases have involved products in virtually every industry, including electronics, telecommunications, steel and metals, chemicals, apparel and textiles, automotive parts, agricultural goods and food, and energy and commodities. We regularly prepare and present oral and written testimony, questionnaire responses, briefs, and written comments in administrative trade proceedings and judicial and agency investigations.
Sanctions
We have a sophisticated and deeply entrenched understanding of economic sanctions and their impact on our clients’ businesses and industries. We assist in managing compliance risks in the context of conflicting sanctions and blocking statutes across multiple jurisdictions. Our broad experience includes assessing potential risks associated with contracts, relationships, or proposed business ventures, including in relation to sanctions and export controls. We also conduct due diligence, draft and negotiate appropriate contractual protections, and establish operational, compliance, and auditing protocols. Our team helps draft and implement compliance policies and is often sought after to provide sanctions compliance training to our clients’ senior management, boards of directors, and employees.
US Sanctions: In recent years, the US has significantly expanded its sanctions, particularly targeting Russia and Iran. The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued numerous designations and substantial penalties for noncompliance with US sanctions against multiple major corporations. Additionally, the US has introduced new measures to counter sanctions evasion, specifically in the context of trade with China. Our US team helps major corporations and other business entities with all issues relating to US sanctions.
EU Sanctions: The EU has been equally proactive, extending its packages of sanctions against Russia in response to the ongoing war in Ukraine in an unprecedented way. The EU has also intensified efforts to prevent sanctions circumvention, with increased enforcement and international cooperation to ensure the effectiveness of these measures. With local offices in key Member States, our team is well-positioned to advise on these developments, helping clients navigate the evolving regulatory landscape. Additionally, our well-established connections with Member State regulators enable us to provide timely and accurate insights, ensuring that our clients are always informed about the latest regulatory changes and compliance requirements.
UK Sanctions: Following Brexit, the UK introduced a sanctions regime that is separate from EU sanctions. Additionally, the UK government has established the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation and the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation to enhance the enforcement of financial and trade sanctions, reflecting a more robust approach to sanctions compliance and enforcement. We provide invaluable advice on these sanctions, ensuring that our clients remain compliant and up to date with all recent developments.
Import & Export Controls
We help navigate the extremely complex and constantly evolving landscape of export and import controls. We also assist in risk mapping and due diligence related to trade controls issues, including reporting requirements around mergers and acquisitions. Leading private equity houses seek our strategic advice on export controls, particularly regarding software, technology, and national security elements. Additionally, we represent clients in applying for export licenses.
We provide advice on classification, valuation, duty assessment (including treatment under the full range of duty preference programs), country of origin and marking, user-fee assessment, bond and warehouse matters, drawback, Foreign Trade Zones, bonded warehousing in the US, the UK, and the EU, as well as on quotas, regulatory restrictions on food, drugs and other products, exclusion and seizure of merchandise, regulatory audits, and resolution of alleged customs violations. We routinely assist clients in conducting internal audits and reviews, preparing compliance programs, and implementing compliance policies.
Investigations, Litigation & Arbitration
We assist clients facing regulatory investigations or prosecutions concerning sanctions and other regulatory breaches, including approaching authorities and negotiating settlements. We often intervene as sanctions and export controls advisors in the context of ongoing litigation and arbitration proceedings in the US, the UK, and the EU. Together with lawyers in the Firm’s industry-leading white-collar criminal defense practice, we represent clients on anticorruption and anti-money-laundering laws, including the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act, as well as related laws of EU Member States, including those implementing the EU Whistleblower Directive.
National Security, Defense & Cybersecurity
We have extensive experience advising on national security-related matters in connection with the cybersecurity, telecommunications, defense, and aeronautics industries. We also advise clients in assessing their compliance with the CFIUS, the UK National Security and Investment Act, and the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation, and obtaining clearances from US, UK, or EU regulatory authorities. Additionally, we represent numerous companies from the telecommunications, defense, and aeronautics industries before various US, UK, and EU administrative bodies.
Product Compliance
We advise on any legislation impacting global trade and global supply chains, including EU and UK chemical legislation and product safety and liability rules, such as the recently implemented EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and EU Deforestation Regulation. Our product compliance practice also includes ongoing counsel and representation of clients before US Customs and Border Protection and the national customs authorities of other countries, including the UK and EU Member States.
Trade Policy, Free Trade Agreements & WTO Matters
Working with senior levels of government and the US Congress, we routinely help clients resolve trade policy concerns that impede the timely flow of goods through ports and across borders. We have highly regarded trade capabilities in the agribusiness and beverage sectors, as well as in numerous other industries across US commerce.
In conjunction with our Food, Beverage & Agribusiness Group, McDermott has played a key role in free trade agreements (FTAs) involving the US, the EU, Canada, China, and other countries. We help clients navigate the complex maze of FTA agreements around the globe and provide broad-ranging counsel on the trade effects and supply-chain implications of bilateral and regional regimes.
We also have substantial experience in virtually all areas of World Trade Organization law. We have litigated major cases before the WTO and its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, particularly in cases involving agricultural commodities interests. Among other highlights, we acted as lead counsel in the long-running dispute over Europe’s banana import regime, often called “the trade case of the decade.”
