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Covington advises clients in focused assessments, penalty investigations, enforcement actions, and other disputes with the U.S. Customs Service. This includes administrative proceedings at ports of entry and at Customs headquarters in Washington DC, as well as litigation in the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
We represent clients involved in investigations and administrative proceedings involving the classification and valuation of imported products, the foreign-origin marking requirements of the Tariff Act, customs bond obligations, harbor maintenance and merchandise-processing fees, the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), and penalty claims under Sections 592 of the Tariff Act. In addition, the firm advises clients with respect to the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (“C-TPAT”) and the special customs issues arising under NAFTA and the WTO Agreement. As part of our extensive international tax practice we have advised numerous companies on issues relating to transfer pricing. We also regularly assist clients in combating counterfeit and gray market imports. Senior firm lawyers with extensive experience in US customs matters are Harvey Applebaum and David Grace.
The firm also has a vibrant European Union (EU) customs practice, managed from our Brussels and London offices. We advise clients on all aspects of EU customs law including classification, origins determination, and valuation, and represent them before the European Commission and before the European Court of Justice and the European Court of First Instance. We also represent clients in proceedings before customs authorities and the courts of the EU Member States, where necessary in cooperation with local counsel. We have particular expertise in customs matters relating to the operation of the EU’s many preferential trade regimes and matters concerning highly taxed goods such agricultural products, cigarettes and alcoholic beverages. The senior firm lawyer with the most extensive experience in European customs matters is Georg Berrisch.
Representative Matters
- Advising a Fortune 50 company with respect to the proper classification of personal care products.
- Assisting a life sciences company in connection with a substantial prior disclosure concerning the proper valuation of certain R&D materials imported into the United States.
- Advising several international companies on origin issues under EU preferential trade agreements.
- Preparing ruling requests for a major Japanese electronics company and its US subsidiaries with respect to classification, government procurement, and foreign-origin marking issues.
- Providing foreign-origin and “Made in USA” marking advice to a manufacturer of generic OTC products.
- Representing a major automobile manufacturer and its US subsidiaries in connection with a transfer pricing inquiry by the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection and an associated audit.
- Advising several international companies on origin issues under EU preferential trade agreements.
- Representing a major retailer in a criminal investigation and Section 592 penalty proceeding with respect to the posting of antidumping cash deposits.
- Representing a Fortune 100 company in a multi-million dollar dispute with the customs authority in a foreign country with respect to the proper valuation of US goods exported to that country.
Accolades
- Harvey M. Applebaum listed in The Best Lawyers in America, International Trade and Finance (2008); Chambers Global, International Trade (2007); and International Who’s Who of Trade and Customs Lawyers (2008).
- Georg Berrisch recognized in Chambers Europe as a leading practitioner in the field of WTO/International Trade (2007); Juve, Customs & Trade, Leading WTO Lawyer (2007); and Who's Who Legal, Trade & Customs, Recommended (2007).
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