Lars-Erik represents Fortune 500 companies whose imports and exports are regulated by the Department of Homeland Security agencies of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as well as by other federal agencies. His experience covers the wide range of commercial and enforcement laws and policies that CBP and ICE administer, including:

Duty preference programs
Tariff classification
Valuation
Customs brokerage
Intellectual property rights enforcement
Country of origin marking
Binding rulings
Audits
Antiterrorism and border protection initiatives (e.g., the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism)
Export controls
Sanctions
Disclosures
Seizures and forfeitures
Fraud and strategic investigations
Civil and criminal penalties.

From 1996 to 1999, Lars-Erik was the assistant chief counsel and managing lawyer for the Customs Service in the Mid-Atlantic, where he supervised the regional legal office and was the principal legal advisor to the customs ports of Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., and the customs Special-Agent-in-Charge.

From 1989 to 1996, he was a lawyer in the Office of the Chief Counsel and the Office of the General Counsel of the Department of the Treasury. During his tenure, he represented the agency before the Court of International Trade (CIT), federal district courts and a U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement dispute resolution panel. He served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, taught customs law at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and assisted in the drafting of the Customs Modernization Act.

Representative Work

Counseling clients through intensive customs audits.
Representing a company before the CIT in a historic case on CBP’s refusal to grant duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences.

Languages
Swedish

Education
J.D., Emory University School of Law, 1989
B.A., University of Pennsylvania, with honors, 1985

Bar Admissions
District of Columbia

Recognitions

Chambers USA, International Trade: Customs, 2012-2024.
The Legal 500 US, Leading Lawyer, 2023; International Trade, 2016-2024.
Chambers Global, 2016-2024.
Who's Who Legal: Trade & Customs, 2023
The Best Lawyers in America, International Trade and Finance Law, 2006-2022.

Affiliations and Public Service

Board of Directors, Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce, Washington, D.C.
Member, Joint Industry Group.
Member, National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America, Inc.
Member, ABA Customs Law Committee.
Former Assistant Chief Counsel, Mid-Atlantic, U.S. Customs Service.

Speeches and Publications

Speaker, “19 CFR 111: Modernization of Customs Broker Regulations and How It Might Benefit, and Progress, Broker/Importer Relations,” ACI’s Import Controls Conference, November 8, 2022.
“Tweets, Tariffs and Trade Wars,” Integrated Dual-Use Commercial Companies, March 14, 2019.
“The UK as a ‘Third Country’: How Industry is Preparing for Potentially New Customs Valuation,” C5’s 10th Advanced Conference on Customs Compliance (Held in Partnership with HMRC), London, December 5, 2017.
“UK and U.S. Trade Relationship: What is the Impact on UK Businesses?” C5’s 10th Advanced Conference on Customs Compliance (Held in Partnership with HMRC), London, December 5, 2017.
“Next Steps on NAFTA – The Process & Politics of Renegotiation,” United States Fashion Industry Association webinar, June 6, 2017.