Overview
Located in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office, V&E;’s International Trade Practice is one of the largest and most prominent in the United States.  Following the firm’s recent addition of fourteen lawyers, the Practice now includes sixteen lawyers and six trade analysts with decades of experience in international trade matters. Clients benefit from the Practice’s in-house economic support team that undertakes lawyer-supervised data compilations and economic analyses required in many international trade cases.

The renowned success that V&E;’s International Trade Practice has enjoyed in winning trade cases comes from the range and depth of our experience and our ability to lead multidisciplinary teams that present the strongest possible defense. Our approach reflects an aggressive hands-on management philosophy.  Our lawyers do not delegate to outside consultants but rather dig deeply into the facts and search broadly for sources of information to win the case. For these reasons, our trade attorneys were selected as lead counsel in five of the ten largest dollar value trade remedy disputes.

V&E;’s International Trade Practice represents individual companies, associations, and foreign governments in all aspects of international trade law, including:

U.S. Trade Cases
V&E;’s International Trade Practice provides comprehensive defense efforts in all phases of trade proceedings – whether antidumping, countervailing duty, or safeguards – including arguments to the International Trade Commission that the targeted imports are not causing material injury to the petitioning domestic industry and arguments to minimize the extent of dumping or subsidization calculated by the Commerce Department, including the special antidumping rules applied to non-market economy countries, such as China and Vietnam. In those cases that antidumping or countervailing duties are imposed, V&E; assists clients, using specially-designed planning software to minimize actual liability. 

World Trade Organization Issues (WTO)
V&E;’s International Trade Practice has extensive expertise in advising foreign governments and industries in a variety of WTO matters. The work of V&E;’s International Trade Practice includes prosecuting and defending WTO dispute settlement proceedings and advising governments and private industry on multilateral and bilateral negotiations. We have a particular expertise in WTO review of trade remedy measures and national law. 

Advising on Customs Law, Foreign Trade Zones, and NAFTA
V&E;'s International Trade lawyers assist clients in all matters of customs law, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection audits and focused assessments, valuation and classification matters, marking, drawback, customs bond issues, preferential treatment (including NAFTA qualifications), and penalty and liquidated damages cases. V&E;’s International Trade Practice also has expertise in establishing foreign trade zones/subzones and bonded warehouses.

U.S. Export Controls
V&E;’s International Trade Practice regularly provides advice and assistance to clients with respect to U.S. export control laws and trade sanctions programs, including determining the licensing requirements applicable to various types of information, products, and software at both the State Department and the Commerce Department and assessing the applicability of various trade embargoes administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). 

Trade Policy
V&E;’s International Trade Practice lawyers have been at the forefront of most of the major trade policy disputes over the past two decades. We routinely advise foreign governments and industries on how to defend against potential market access sanctions by the U.S. government. 

Trade Cases by Other Countries
The uniform guidelines on trade laws established by the WTO allow our trade lawyers to apply their expertise throughout the world. Indeed, because many countries’ trade laws have used U.S. law as a model, many companies and governments have sought the assistance of our trade lawyers both to draft and revise other countries’ laws and to represent them in trade cases initiated by other countries. For example, we worked with clients facing trade remedy proceedings initiated by Brazil, Indonesia, European Union, Sweden, South Africa, New Zealand, and Canada.

Cross-Border Trade and Investment/CFIUS
The International Trade Practice actively represents U.S. and foreign clients seeking national security approvals for cross-border trade and investment transactions in confidential proceedings before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Under the Exon-Florio Amendment, a foreign acquisition, merger or takeover of a U.S. business that raises national security concerns may be subject to CFIUS review and authorization.  In particular, investments by entities that have some aspect of state-ownership are subject to mandatory investigations if national security issues are present. The group’s extensive experience representing industries where state-ownership is common, such as in former centrally-planned economies, makes our lawyers particularly adept at dealing with legal issues arising under Exon-Florio. The practice’s experience also includes gaining CFIUS approval for foreign acquisition of U.S. defense contractors.

The firm’s clients in the international trade area include foreign governments, trade associations, and manufacturers, as well as U.S. importers and consumers, “transplants,” and U.S. multinationals that source abroad.