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Victor D. Ban

Associate

Washington +1 202 662 5553

English
  • About
  • Representative Matters
  • Credentials
  • About

    Victor Ban helps clients in technology, energy, and manufacturing navigate international trade policy and customs matters and complex cross-border disputes. His experience includes assisting companies and governments in connection with supply chain and trade compliance assessments under U.S. law and international agreements, World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement, antidumping and countervailing duty investigations, trade agreement negotiations, and international arbitration. He has handled matters before the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. International Trade Commission, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and various U.S. federal courts and arbitral tribunals, and is a licensed U.S. Customs Broker. To each engagement, he brings skills and insights drawn from his experience in business, government, and multilateral institutions, spanning the U.S. and East Asia.

    Prior to joining the firm, he clerked for Judge Emilio M. Garza of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Judge Rudolph Contreras of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

    Previously, Victor was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, serving financial services, technology, and consumer goods clients across Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Victor has also worked with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in Japan.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Practices and Industries
  • Representative Matters

    Trade Remedy and Tariff Proceedings

    • Preparing requests for exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on imports from China and Section 232 tariffs on aluminum imports.
    • Representing an aircraft manufacturer in a U.S. countervailing duty investigation and advising on related WTO proceedings.
    • Advising a multinational chemical manufacturer regarding an antidumping investigation in China and applicable WTO disciplines.
    • Representing a phosphate fertilizer producer in a U.S. countervailing duty investigation.

    Customs Matters

    • Assisting a medical device manufacturer with a ruling request addressing classification and country of origin.
    • Assisting an aluminum manufacturer with a prior disclosure and related classification and tariff exclusion analysis.
    • Assisting an optical device manufacturer with a request for internal advice and related prior disclosure.
    • Advising clients on customs compliance and corrective actions.

    International Trade Policy

    • Advising companies and trade associations regarding the obligations of foreign governments under various WTO and free trade agreements.
    • Preparing comments for the Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets administered by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
    • Advising an East Asian trade ministry on the interpretation of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
    • Assessing the compliance of various transactions and government support with the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and the OECD Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits.

    International Arbitration

    • Representing a technology firm in arbitration stemming from cross-border cyber-fraud.
    • Representing an energy company in arbitrations concerning tax indemnification and in enforcement of arbitral awards.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Credentials
    Education
    • Harvard Law School, J.D., 2013
        • cum laude
    • Harvard University, A.M., 2007
        • Regional Studies - East Asia
    • University of Oxford, M.St., 2006
        • with distinction
        • Knox Fellow
    • Harvard University, A.B., 2005
        • summa cum laude
        • Phi Beta Kappa
    Bar Admissions
    • District of Columbia
    • Maryland
    Judicial Clerkship
    • Hon. Rudolph Contreras, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, 2014 - 2015
    • Hon. Emilio M. Garza, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, 2013 - 2014
    Languages
    • Mandarin
    • Japanese
    Pro Bono
    • Representing individuals experiencing homelessness in challenging the constitutionality of the District of Columbia government’s destruction of unattended personal belongings during “encampment” clearings, Proctor et al. v. District of Columbia, No. 18-cv-701 (D.D.C.).
    • Supporting tenants and landlords appearing before the Landlord-Tenant Branch in the Civil Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
    • Representing a provider of behavioral health and residential services in proceedings before the District of Columbia Office of Administrative Hearings.
    • Representing a defendant charged with second-degree assault in the District Court of Prince George’s County, Maryland.
    Previous Experience
    • Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Intern (2011)
    • McKinsey & Company, Business Analyst and Associate (2007-2010)
    • United Nations Human Settlements Programme, Coordinating Officer (2009)

    Areas of Expertise

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