For issues relating to Trade & Customs and Border Protection, turn to Stites & Harbison PLLC. Our Trade & Customs team can assist in handling routine import/export matters, as well as providing representation before the Court of International Trade (CIT), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), or the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). The increasing velocity of international trade and commerce, global sourcing, just-in-time manufacturing and world-wide marketing moves products and people across country borders in ever-higher volume and frequency. Trade and customs issues are to be expected in almost every industry.
Customs clearance through any of the 327 official ports of entry in the United States and 15 Preclearance offices in Canada and the Caribbean are routine events in many industries. We can assist throughout the import and clearance process. The scope of entry assistance encompasses items ranging from equipment parts to agricultural products and livestock, as well as complex and controlled products.
Our Trade & Customs team can assist in managing the import/export process to comply with U.S. laws and regulations, as well as securing necessary export licenses. We can also act to register intellectual property with CBP to seek its protection. Our Trade & Customs team stands ready to assist in the event your products are denied entry, seized, quarantined, or face other import challenges.
Concurrent representation before CBP and representation before the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) is often required. The USITC is one of the most challenging and fast-paced forums in the world for both Complainants and Respondents. The USITC has the power to order the exclusion of products from the United States marketplace and act against unfair trade practices. Our USITC team can assist in the resolution of USITC investigations, as well as with entry issues associated with Limited Exclusion Orders, General Exclusion Orders and Cease and Desist Orders.
We can also act before the United States Court of International Trade. The CIT has a residual grant of exclusive jurisdictional authority to decide any civil action against the United States, its officers, or its agencies arising out of any law pertaining to international trade. The court also has exclusive subject matter jurisdiction over certain civil actions brought by the United States under the laws governing import transactions, as well as counterclaims, cross-claims, and third-party actions relating to actions pending in the court.
For more information regarding Stites & Harbison PLLC's Trade & U.S. Customs and Border Protection practice, please contact Eric G. Wright, at ewright@stites.com, or call (703) 837-3927.