International trade opens up a lot of opportunities for most businesses. This also opens up a lot of risks. International trade law is a set of laws that regulate this trade between countries. Some issues that governments and businesses run into involve exports and imports. This also includes remedies to resolve these issues.
When a business runs into the murky waters of international trade law they often hire an international trade lawyer. These law professionals can help businesses prevent possible international trade law violations. A lot of this is done by lawyers advising businesses on how to comply with the World Trade Organization (WTO). Below are some things that international trade lawyers do for businesses.
What is the World Trade Organization?
The World Trade Organization that regulates international trade among countries. A good international trade lawyer has to be familiar with the WTO in order to be successful. Some of the things that the WTO does is promote transparency, reduce barriers to trade, and ensure that countries are not discriminating against each other on a trade basis.
An international trade lawyer would make sure that businesses are complying with rules that relate to this. For example, a business couldn’t conduct business that would be considered hazardous to the environment or the country they are trading with. This could be something like a business dumping some sort of waste product in a country that they manufacture in.
When a business does need a lawyer for international trade they typically do a good search first. They could do a search on a site like this for a name like “Douglas Healy” and look up his bio and qualifications.
Import laws and Customs and Border Protection
One big thing that international trade lawyers do is represent their clients for disputes like imports and exports. A number of these possible violations could come from Customs and Border Protection (CBP). They also go by just “customs” and can a source of legal trouble for businesses doing international trade. Not every violation is made on purpose with some vile intent. A lot of it is just simple mistakes that do require paying a fine. This is where international lawyers come in.
You want to hire them before you get fined or end up in court. For example, one possible violation that the CBP could catch you for is for violating 19 USC § 1592. This would be done by omitting certain information like electronic documents, materials, and trying to help someone conceal this information from customs.
A good international trade lawyer would advise a business on how to properly file out forms and process materials through customs without violating the above-mentioned code. It is important for a business to realize that customs does not play favorites or do favors. They put the responsibility of complying with these rules on the shoulders of the business. So it’s best to take these things seriously.
Export law violations
International trade lawyers also help with exports and it’s very similar to imports. The rules that cover exports are the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). One issue of EAR is determining if a business needs an export license. A business needing a license is a bit rare but the punishment for violating this regulation is steep.
This is another job for international trade lawyers. They would pour over the EAR documents and determine if the business they are working for is in compliance. This includes determining if an exporting license is needed. One instance of an export license being required would if a business sends an EAR99 item to a country that is embargoed or is a denied party. This can get very confusing for businesses to try to determine without a lawyer’s help.
Conclusion
International trade can be seen as a business moving to the next level. It opens up a lot of opportunities for growth. This also opens up a lot of risk in the form of heavy fines for violations. Many of these violations come from guidelines set by the WTO and other trade regulations. Most of this is related to imports and exports. The CBP often catches many businesses unaware and this can be a big problem for some.
Contacting a good international trade lawyer, like with the Douglas Healy example, is often the first step in being compliant. A business shouldn’t let international trade law be a barrier to business