Nicholai C. Diamond
Counsel
Areas of Focus
- Customs & Import Controls
- International Trade
- Regulatory
- Technology
- Counsels clients on customs compliance, duty savings strategies, regulatory risk mitigation and other matters at the intersection of international trade and business.
- Former global trade counsel with a major tech company, attorney-advisor with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. delegate to the World Customs Organization (WCO).
Nick advises clients on customs matters that impact international business and trade. His experience covers a broad range of laws and policies administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other agencies, including:
- Entry process and requirements
- Tariff classification
- Valuation
- Country of origin
- Marking requirements
- “Reasonable care” requirements
- Special customs duties (e.g., Section 201, 232, and 301)
- Duty savings strategies (via, e.g., free trade agreements (FTAs), foreign trade zones and exclusions from special duties)
- Administration of antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) orders
- Import restrictions and prohibitions (e.g. related to forced labor)
- Customs administration of environmental and product safety laws
- Audits and investigations
- Penalties, seizures and other enforcement actions
- Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) and other antiterrorism/border security initiatives
- Administrative protests and rulings
Nick combines this knowledge with practical experience as a former global trade counsel with a major technology company, where he advised internal teams on global and regional trade and transportation matters. In this role, he helped resolve trade compliance questions in several countries, implement global compliance policies and procedures, navigate engagements with various government agencies, manage customs brokers and logistics service providers and negotiate agreements.
Additionally, Nick brings to bear experience as a former attorney-advisor with CBP’s Office of Trade, Regulations and Rulings Directorate. While with CBP, Nick issued binding agency decisions concerning tariff classification, country of origin, valuation and eligibility for duty preference under FTAs. He also served as U.S. delegate to the WCO’s Harmonized System Review Sub-Committee, coordinating with U.S. partner agencies and foreign counterpart agencies to amend the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (which provides the global foundation for the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) and other tariff schedules).
- Advises clients on strategies and best practices to comply with U.S. customs laws and related laws.
- Develops and has successfully executed strategies to reduce or recover customs duties on a broad range of products, including consumer electronics, chemical products, vehicles and medical devices.
- Counsels clients in resolving regulator inquiries, remediating or preempting civil penalty actions and obtaining reinstatement of CTPAT status.
- Designs streamlined approaches to confirming trade requirements across multiple jurisdictions for, e.g., global product launches, global compliance procedures or the resolution of inter-jurisdictional matters.
EducationJ.D., The George Washington University Law School, 2013
B.A., University of San Diego, 2007
J.D., The George Washington University Law School, 2013
B.A., University of San Diego, 2007
Bar AdmissionsDistrict of Columbia
District of Columbia
- Attorney-Advisor, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Trade, Regulations and Rulings Directorate
