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).