International Trade & National Security

International trade and national security issues pose increasingly complex challenges for cross-border business. Rapidly shifting tariffs, an unprecedented trade war, increased customs enforcement actions, and new and vigorously enforced supply chain rules require multinational companies to understand and adapt to the new international trade environment. Our multidisciplinary team of international trade lawyers leverages deep experience in all aspects of international trade to help your business adapt to the changing global environment and achieve your business objectives.

Customs, Tariffs & Supply Chain

The Trump administration is upending the international trade environment in every way imaginable, including new tariff requirements, sharply stepped-up Customs & Border Protection (CBP) enforcement, and directions to CBP to crack down on tariff underpayments.

Our international trade team can help importers manage the rapid array of changes to help companies that source and import from abroad regarding a full range of import-related matters. We also help companies navigate matters where the Department of Justice is involved, including defending Customs False Claims Act (FCA) cases and potential criminal referrals of Customs matters. Representative matters include:

• Working with clients to identify tariff-related risks, design and implement supply chain flexibility initiatives, and develop flexible, tariff-related risk management plans.
• Analyzing import country-of-origin, classifications, and U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement (USMCA) compliance and providing CBP “reasonable care” memoranda to help importers manage their import risks.
• Responding to Form 28 Requests for Information, Form 29 Notices of Action, and import enforcement proceedings brought by CBP and the Mexican Tax Administration Service (SAT).
• Conducting Customs audits and supply chain integrity checks to aid clients in identifying and remedying import-related risks.
• Helping clients navigate supply chain challenges, including the need to comply with forced labor, human trafficking, and Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) requirements when importing goods into the United States.
• Conducting Customs investigations and voluntary self-disclosures.
• Defending importers in FCA actions.

Export & Sanctions Counseling, Compliance, and Enforcement

The new Trump administration has made the elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations one of its top priorities, including through the designation of entities operating in Latin America and elsewhere as foreign terrorist organizations (“FTOs”). This has greatly increased the existing compliance risk to companies doing business in regions with known cartel activity.

To help companies cope with the new enforcement priorities, as well as traditional economic sanctions and export controls concerns, our team offers clients specialized experience in international enforcement proceedings involving counterterrorism, economic sanctions, money laundering, weapons proliferation, and issues relating to the transfer of controlled and classified goods, software, technology, and technical data. From sanctions programs administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the U.S. State Department, to export control laws like the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR), our international trade team helps clients identify risks, implement tailored compliance policies and internal controls, and take measures to mitigate and manage those risks. And when compliance breaks down, our international trade team helps clients investigate potential violations, craft effective defense strategies, and work with regulators to close out disclosures and enforcement actions, in both civil and criminal enforcement actions, while protecting the company’s interests.

International Trade Disputes

Our international trade team has decades of experience in antidumping and countervailing duty disputes involving most of the largest antidumping and countervailing investigations and reviews over the last three decades. Our trade team regularly also helps companies bring and defend allegations brought under the Enforce and Protect Act with CBP and to defend Customs whistleblower allegations.

Foreign Investment & National Security Reviews

Foley’s international team represents clients in complex national security reviews before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the Defense Counterintelligence & Security Agency (DCSA), and the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC). Working collaboratively with our corporate M&A colleagues, our national security lawyers help companies, private equity funds, and venture capital firms identify potential national security risks at the start of a transaction planning process. We leverage our experience in the Manufacturing, Energy, Health Care, and Technology sectors to develop practical, tailored strategies in proceedings involving critical technology, critical infrastructure, sensitive personal data, and other national security issues.

International Regulatory

Our International Government Enforcement Defense & Investigations team also provides practical advice regarding the full range of regulatory regimes aimed at multinational companies, including antiboycott, anticorruption, antitrust/competition, anti-money laundering, export controls, and economic sanctions, including in the areas of counseling, compliance, and investigations.

Practical Advice, Practical Answers

Our international trade attorneys are thought leaders who have published dozens of leading legal treatises and white papers. They publish a “What Every Multinational Company Should Know About” biweekly series that provides practical advice regarding the international trade and regulatory topics that concern every company operating, importing from, or selling abroad.