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With significant changes to laws across the globe, our clients rely on our highly experienced team for advice on high-value customs matters, involving significant financial and non-financial risk. Mayer Brown's global Customs practice has the capacity and knowledge to advise on cross-border strategies for multinational businesses operating in the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Asia, and Latin America. Clients regularly turn to us for compliance with global import regulations, optimizing sourcing options, and eliminating barriers to market entry.

We advise on supply chain risk and opportunities, counsel on import compliance, and represent clients in adverse proceedings before customs authorities, including the US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) and the EU or EU Member States' authorities. Clients trust our counsel at all levels of government, ranging from front-line regulators to political appointees and congressional and administration staff. This is particularly helpful in ensuring clients are proactive—advocating on behalf of companies on issues ranging from rules of origin to 301 duty exclusion eligibility, as well as in duty deferral proceedings (such as the GSP and MTB programs).

Clients rely on our significant experience with global tariff classification and customs valuation matters before the World Customs Organization (WCO) and World Trade Organization (WTO). We counsel on border measures regulated by customs authorities and product regulatory bodies around the world, and conduct audits and assessments in a wide range of industries.

An area of increased customs concern for our clients are ESG-related regulations, including human rights—such as the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act—which greatly impact customs activities and issues. Our work includes conducting internal forced labor investigations, advising contracting parties to utility scale transactions on forced labor risk (and conducting related due diligence), and developing compliance protocols to mitigate risk of detention at the US border. Other ESG-related issues have also created novel issues for our clients in the EU. This is the case of new provisions such as the EU's deforestation, batteries and carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) requirements, and the forthcoming EU provisions on forced labor as well as the implementation of sanctions and export or import control provisions. We counsel our clients daily on these vital regulations and their implementation by the customs authorities, as well as how to adjust and render their supply chain compliant.

Working together as a single integrated team, our practice spans Mayer Brown offices in Washington DC, Brussels, Paris, London and São Paulo. All members of our Customs team are well-versed and well-qualified to advise clients on trade and customs issues beyond the borders of their offices, including the Americas, East and Southeast Asia, Europe (including the Eurasian Economic Union and Ukraine), Northern Africa, the Middle East, Turkey, Australia, and New Zealand. Additionally, we have strong relationships with local counsel in markets where we do not personally practice.

Our global footprint allows us to counsel clients on worldwide operations, saving the cost and hassle of hiring multiple outside consultants, as well as to provide informed advice concerning import, export, and sourcing strategies. We advise on seizures, protests, classification rulings, customs valuation issues, rules of origin, marking, labeling, and import and export clearance. In addition, clients trust in our capabilities regarding border measures regulated by customs authorities and product regulatory bodies around the world, and our ability to handle audits and assessments in a wide range of industries.

Our Customs team is highly sought after for areas including, but not limited to:

Tariff classification, rules of origin, origin markings, and customs valuation under the customs laws of the US, EU, and other jurisdictions.
Implementation of excise duties in the EU.
Securing favorable tariff classification, origin and valuation rulings from national authorities and the WCO.
Customs disputes litigation before administrative panels and courts of law in the US, UK, the EU and individual EU Member States.
Supply, manufacturing and licensing agreements drafting, particularly from the perspective of customs valuation.
Optimizing global sourcing options by taking advantage of the duty savings associated with foreign trade zones, duty suspensions, bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements, and other trade preference programs.
Customs audits, focused assessments, CT-PAT, and other US, EU and UK customs initiatives.
Internal compliance program development and implementation to reduce risks of customs violations.
Forced labor compliance, due diligence, investigations and Withhold-Release Orders (“WRO”) issued by US Customs and Border Protection.

We understand how customs laws affect internationally operating clients who rely on functioning and barrier-free global supply chains. Our knowledge and network allow us to react swiftly in case of disruptions—but, more importantly, to aid in preventing such disruptions and in securing financial optimization from duty savings.