We have worked in every substantive area in customs law, including: entry process; classification, valuation, country of origin and marking; admissibility, quotas and other importing restrictions; bilateral and multilateral trade agreements; preferential trade programs; drawback; Foreign Trade Zones; Temporary Importation under Bond and Bonded Warehouses; Jones Act and Vessel Repairs; internal compliance reviews, recordkeeping and compliance programs; focused assessments and audits; investigations, penalty proceedings and liquidated damages claims; seizures and forfeitures; ruling requests and other administrative requests; and, protests and other administrative and judicial challenges.
Additionally, Kelley Drye has participated in the U.S. Customs steel identification, classification and trade law training program for many years. We conduct formal and informal training seminars in which we instruct customs officials in the classification of specific products and the application of antidumping and countervailing duty orders to those products.
In recent years, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has been called upon more frequently to enforce the statutes of other federal agencies in the areas of consumer product safety, environmental compliance, labeling, and food safety. We have been able to merge our expertise in these substantive areas of regulation with our knowledge of customs law and procedures in assisting clients who have faced detentions, seizures and other forms of regulatory scrutiny in connection with their imports of consumer products.
Representative Experience
- Assisted a U.S. importer in securing the release of imported outdoor power equipment that was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, at the request of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, for violating the applicable emissions standard.
- Assisted a U.S. importer in securing the release of imported children's playground equipment that was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, at the request of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, based on a determination that portions of the imported products violated the applicable lead content standard.
- Conducting a customs compliance assessment for a global and diversified Fortune 200 client's largest importing group.
- Assisting our client's largest importing group in becoming a validated C-TPAT member.
- Advising on classification and marking ruling requests and NAFTA verification matters.
- Conducting internal reviews and establishing import/export compliance programs, and providing on-site training for the company's business units.
