Helps clients engage with U.S. executive branch agencies to mitigate and resolve challenges arising from U.S. international trade regulation and policy.
Has substantial experience in antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) proceedings and appeals of AD/CVD determinations.
Served as an attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel for Import Administration in the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Bernd advises clients around the globe across a range of trade litigation proceedings arising under U.S. law. These include AD/CVD and safeguard law, U.S. customs requirements, Section 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

Bernd helps clients navigate duty and penalty risk arising under these laws, develops litigation strategy geared to current U.S. trade policy, and represents clients in appeals before U.S. courts and international tribunals.

Bernd assists companies in multiple industries—including the automotive, building materials, chemicals, energy and metals industries—taking care to understand the unique challenges each faces in the context of rapidly evolving and complex U.S. and international trade requirements. He is detail-oriented, yet has the ability to communicate core issues in clear terms.

Bernd assists corporate and sovereign clients in Canada, China, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Singapore. He also works closely with U.S. importers facing risks from the enforcement of U.S. trade law.

Representative Work

Enabled Pulsetech Products Corporation to exclude certain solar products imported from China from duty liability arising under AD/CVD and safeguard orders.
Helped Shikoku Chemicals Corporation, a leading Japanese producer of water treatment chemicals, to escape AD duties through a finding by the U.S. International Trade Commission that the Japanese-origin imports did not injure the U.S. industry.
Represented the government of British Columbia in a CVD case against Catalyst Paper, one of the province’s largest manufacturing employers. The Commerce Department initially imposed a CVD order, but on review found that British Columbia did not subsidize Catalyst.
Represented NEC Energy Solutions in achieving an exclusion from duties that would otherwise have been imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Advising multiple U.S. importers, and foreign governments, in seeking exclusions from duties on aluminum and steel applied under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

“He does a spectacular job, is such a team player and is hugely responsive.”

Chambers Global, 2021

Languages
German

Education
J.D., The George Washington University Law School, 1996
M.I.A., Columbia University, 1992
B.A., Bethel College, cum laude, 1988

Bar Admissions
District of Columbia
New York

Recognitions

Chambers Global, International Trade: Trade Remedies and Trade Policy, USA, 2020-2024.
Chambers USA, International Trade: Trade Remedies and Trade Policy, 2018-2024.
The Legal 500 US, International Trade, 2016-2022; International Trade: Trade Remedies and Trade Policy, 2023-2024.

Affiliations and Public Service

Attorney, Office of the Chief Counsel for Import Administration, 1996 to 2000.

Speeches and Publications

“Operating at the Intersection of Trade and Customs Law,” Georgetown University Law Center 2016 International Trade Update, Washington, D.C., February 25 and 26, 2016.
Panelist, “Developments in Free Trade Agreements Between North America and Europe: Is a new Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Agreement Within Reach, and What Impact Would it Have on NAFTA?” American Bar Association Section of International Law, Fall Meeting, October 18, 2013.