Commerce International & Conformité
Breaking Through Barriers
International trade and compliance can be an obstacle course. Whether you are sponsoring global investment in U.S. renewable energy projects, selling semiconductor equipment internationally or facing compliance challenges relating to newly imposed economic sanctions, you need advisors who know their way around the global market and the numerous legal restraints on international trade and investment.
Major companies such as Intel, Marathon Oil, Thales and Flex commonly rely on us to help them overcome the most challenging barriers to cross-border business. We serve clients in advanced technology, finance, energy, manufacturing and other sectors.
We’ve counseled global financial institutions on how to comply with U.S. and EU economic sanctions. We’ve worked on some of the highest profile foreign investment transactions to come before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), including a cleared transaction that went to the White House. We’ve resolved compliance and government affairs challenges related to trade in security-sensitive electronics products. We’ve advanced the interests of some of the largest industrial businesses in connection with import antidumping proceedings. We have helped many multinational companies set up effective global compliance programs as a first line of defense. And when our clients have faced enforcement issues or litigation, we’ve guided them to successful resolution.
Our International Trade & Compliance team works hand in hand with our Corporate and Investigations teams to conduct due diligence and internal investigations, manage risk, and represent our clients’ interests at all levels of government in the United States and elsewhere. The strength of our practice rests on our sensitivity to both sector-specific considerations and the priorities of regulators in the United States and around the world.
Chambers USA 2021 ranks two team members for work relating to both CFIUS and export controls and sanctions. Clients are quoted describing these individuals as, “one of the country’s best sanctions lawyers” and having “an ability to translate complex legal requirements and rules into business-friendly jargon."
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Global Footprint, Comprehensive Experience
Our team stands ready to assist you in every global market, with practitioners in Washington, D.C., London, Paris, Brussels, Geneva, Düsseldorf, Beijing, Tokyo and other major financial, commercial and regulatory centers.
We offer counsel on the full range of international trade and investment requirements, including:
- The Exon-Florio law and other rules bearing on foreign investment screening by CFIUS and other reviewing bodies
- Export controls, including U.S. (Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)) and EU regulations
- Embargoes and other economic sanctions administered by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), EU authorities and others
- Unfair import (antidumping and countervailing duties) and customs regulations
- Market access rights
- Government contracting regulations, including Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI) and those related to procurement and industrial security requirements
- Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the UK Bribery Act and other anticorruption laws
- Anti-money laundering laws and regulations
We can also help you address challenges involving restraints on global trade and investment, along with related policy and regulatory matters.
Focus on Compliance
A robust compliance program is a requirement when operating in global markets.
We have crafted and helped implement compliance programs for leading players in the energy, semiconductor, software, telecom, aviation, financial and other sectors. In the process, we’ve led compliance reviews and internal investigations and assisted in the preparation of voluntary self-disclosures to the U.S. government. And when clients have faced enforcement actions, we’ve provided vigorous and strenuous defense against criminal and civil actions, with a long record of successfully negotiating settlements with regulatory authorities.
Investigations into trade-law violations can quickly expand into areas including corruption, bribery and money laundering. That is why we always work to create global compliance and training programs that cover the full range of risk areas.
Policy Advocates
In addition to offering you advice on policy matters in the sensitive areas of trade, defense, national security and advanced commercial technology, we can stand as your advocate with the lawmakers and regulators who formulate and implement laws and regulations that govern global commercial activity.
We work closely with all segments of government, regularly offering perspectives to the U.S. Congress, Commerce Department, Justice Department, Treasury Department, Defense Department, Energy Department, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, State Department, White House offices and Intelligence Agencies.
Representative Experience
Some of our representative experience includes:
- Completing an internal investigation and submitting sanctions compliance-related voluntary disclosures to four regulatory authorities in the United States and the United Kingdom relating to supply of a banking security system by a major European technology and defense company, resulting in no penalties
- Securing a complete victory in an antidumping and countervailing duty matter for a U.S. company supplying solar trackers for large-scale solar projects in the United States that could have had major implications
- Serving as U.S. economic sanctions expert in an international arbitration involving a European and Russian power production companies
- CFIUS matters described here
