King & Spalding’s International Trade Group, headquartered in the Washington, D.C., and London offices, handles a wide range of international trade and customs matters for U.S. and non-U.S. clients.  The group received the Chambers USA Award for Excellence in 2008 and 2009 for its pre-eminence and noteworthy achievements over the past year, including outstanding work, impressive strategic growth and excellence in client service.

The team has experienced significant growth in handling U.S. countervailing duty (anti-subsidy) cases against imports from China, the representation of U.S. and non-U.S. manufacturers in international trade proceedings outside the United States, handling significant Section 337 cases at the ITC, and the representation of governments in dispute settlement proceedings before the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva.

The group is composed of over 40 lawyers and consultants, including former government officials, former WTO officials, trade remedy accounting and data specialists, and foreign legal experts. Lawyers in the group practice before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. International Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Court of International Trade, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (U.S. Department of the Treasury), the U.K. Department of Trade and Industry, U.K. Customs and Excise, the European Commission, bi-national panels under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), WTO dispute settlement panels, and various other governmental and international bodies. Individuals in the group speak numerous foreign languages, including Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

King & Spalding is a full-service law firm, but our International Trade Practice Group relies most significantly on our expertise in the following practice areas:

Trade Remedy Cases

WTO Dispute Settlement

Customs Practice

Section 337 Cases

Export Controls and Sanctions

Counseling on Market Access

International Trade Policy, Lobbying, and Legislation

Other Areas of Trade Practice

Trade Remedy Cases     Return to Top

The most extensive part of the group’s practice concerns anti-dumping, countervailing duty (anti-subsidy), safeguard, and foreign market-access (Section 301) actions. Lawyers within the group have successfully represented many different industries involved in these proceedings both in the United States and in other countries. In addition to the largest anti-dumping case ever brought against China, the group was also the first in 15 years to successfully file a countervailing duty petition in the United States against subsidized imports from China. In other countries, the group helped domestic industries in Guatemala and Nicaragua prosecute the first two anti-dumping cases filed in Central America and assisted the domestic industry in the first countervailing duty case in Japan. Similarly, our lawyers have represented U.S. exporters in more than 20 unfair trade investigations conducted by the Mexican Government. Lawyers in the group have also represented exporters in unfair trade proceedings in China, the European Union, India, and elsewhere.

The group’s lawyers have appeared before numerous trial and appellate courts in the United States, as well as before bi-national dispute settlement panels convened under Chapter 19 of the NAFTA and its predecessor, the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement. In addition, the group represented the U.S. cement industry in the first “extraordinary challenge” brought against a NAFTA panel determination.

WTO Dispute Settlement     Return to Top

The group has substantial experience in the litigation of international trade disputes before the WTO and its predecessor, the 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Our lawyers litigated or are litigating a significant number of AD, CVD, and safeguards cases to come before WTO dispute settlement panels. For example, in the first case under the WTO AD Agreement involving cement exported to Guatemala from Mexico, the group worked closely with the Government of Guatemala to prepare and argue the case before the panel and the Appellate Body. In the second case under the AD Agreement, involving semiconductors from Korea, one of our lawyers represented the major U.S. producer. In the third WTO AD case, another of our lawyers participated as part of the official delegation of the Government of Thailand and acted as lead counsel before the panel and the Appellate Body. This same lawyer also represented the Republic of Korea in the first case under the WTO Agreement on Safeguards. More recently, the group has been actively involved in cases involving anti-dumping duty measures (rice), countervailing duty measures (semi-conductors), subsidies (aircraft), and other GATT obligations (agriculture).

Customs Practice     Return to Top

The group advises numerous importers on the requirements of U.S. customs law. Recent projects include negotiations with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on the release of detained merchandise, completion of a country-of-origin audit, analysis of the classification and valuation of experimental pharmaceutical products, and a compliance audit for an importer being acquired by a King & Spalding client. The group’s lawyers have prepared ruling requests and prior disclosures of violations, negotiated with the Customs Service concerning the mitigation of penalties, petitioned for remission of forfeitures, litigated classification and Harbor Maintenance Tax issues before the U.S. Court of International Trade, and prepared internal compliance manuals. The group has also teamed with the firm’s criminal defense lawyers to defend clients accused of criminal violations of U.S. customs laws.

The group’s lawyers advise clients on Mexican customs law and have represented clients before the Mexican trade authorities with respect to the establishment of trade preference programs for the manufacture of merchandise to be exported to the United States.

The group also advises on U.K. and European Union customs laws and on related policy matters, including the development of trade facilitation measures to improve customs procedures and eliminate discrimination in the application of such procedures. The group has represented clients regarding prior disclosures of violations and in successful negotiations to achieve “no-action” settlements.

Section 337 Cases     Return to Top

The group represents clients before the U.S. International Trade Commission that are injured by the importation of products that infringe valid and enforceable U.S. intellectual property rights. This part of the group’s practice utilizes its extensive background in trade litigation and the firm’s broader experience with the enforcement of intellectual property rights.

Export Controls and Sanctions     Return to Top

The group provides assistance to clients on compliance with U.S., U.K., and EU export control laws and trade sanctions. Our main goal is to help clients achieve their business objectives in compliance with this constantly changing area of the law. Lawyers in the group assist clients in navigating all stages of government regulation, including assisting with export classification and licensing, developing and implementing internal compliance systems, investigating violations, and responding to enforcement actions brought by government trade control agencies.

A notable example of the group’s practice is its participation in the Hughes National Security Compliance Review Task Force (Nunn-Wolfowitz), a task force focused on the improvement of internal procedures for complying with regulations on the export of “dual-use” products and technologies. Members of the group (1) briefed the task force on recent changes in the laws and regulations governing the exportation of commercial satellites, (2) prepared background memoranda on related export control issues, and (3) assisted in the preparation of reports by the task force. The Nunn-Wolfowitz report is still cited as the “gold standard” in best practices for trade control compliance.

In the area of trade sanctions, lawyers in the group are regularly asked by clients to provide advice on current and former U.S. embargoes of countries, U.S., U.K. and EU terrorism-related laws and regulations, and other U.K., EU and United Nations sanctions regimes. Our assistance often includes advising on the application of U.S. embargo rules to foreign companies, drafting contract language to ensure compliance with trade sanctions, preparing license applications, and presenting policy initiatives to government agencies that advance the business objectives of the firm’s clients.

Counseling on Market Access     Return to Top

Lawyers have substantial experience advising clients how to reduce or eliminate barriers to market access for goods and services under existing international trade agreements or otherwise how international trade obligations may affect current or future investments or operations. Lawyers have advised on the removal or revision of onerous or discriminatory technical standards applicable to imported goods and the revision of licensing, investment criteria, and other regulatory provisions applicable to services operations.

International Trade Policy, Lobbying, and Legislation     Return to Top

The group represents clients before the Congress, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.K. Department of Trade and Industry, the European Commission, and other U.S., U.K., EU, and intergovernmental bodies on multilateral and bilateral trade issues. Often in conjunction with the firm’s Government Affairs group, we have advocated our clients’ positions with respect to international negotiations (e.g., WTO, FTAA, APEC), international trade legislation and regulation, state and federal climate change developments, administrative agency rulemakings, and policy decisions.

Other Areas of Trade Practice     Return to Top

Lawyers in the group have significant experience with other international trade matters, including those involving the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, applications for preferences (including under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences), foreign trade zone applications, U.S. “Section 22” actions, and “e-commerce” issues.