The Bristol Group is a premier Washington, D.C. legal services and consulting firm specializing in complex international trade, customs, and related public policy and legislative matters. Antidumping (AD) and countervailing cases (CVD) are at the heart of our practice.
We work with global businesses of all sizes, using the powerful tools available under U.S. trade laws to help them succeed. Historically, the heart of our practice has been defending American manufacturing and agricultural industries from unfairly-traded imports. Today, our capabilities include a wide array of legal services related to import and export issues, sanctions, compliance, customs, public policy, legislative matters, media, and strategic communications.
Our perspective is global, and we are highly attuned to the ways trade interacts with state and local governments, international affairs and policy, and national security interests. To do our job, we become subject matter experts on our clients’ businesses, learning the minutiae of their products, people, manufacturing operations, markets, supply chains, raw materials, and challenges. We view ourselves as strategic partners in addressing our clients’ legal challenges, and ensure that we are as responsive to our clients’ needs and concerns as we would want them to be to ours.
In the end, our commitment is to our clients and their goals. International trade and manufacturing are about more than producing and selling goods and services. These activities create value for companies, workers, their families and communities. They directly underpin the “industrial commons” that fosters innovation and ingenuity for all industries, in all countries, and in so doing create the foundation for future growth and economic security. Most importantly, they allow our clients to succeed.
The Practice
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Litigation
Bristol Group professionals have helped manufacturers defend their markets for nearly 30 years. Antidumping (AD) and countervailing cases (CVD) are at the heart of our practice. Our professionals draw upon deep experience, sound judgment, and a pool of nationally-known experts as needed.
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AD and CVD cases, which are litigated simultaneously before the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission, involve complex legal, economic, policy and accounting issues. While technically challenging, these cases generate important benefits as soon as they are filed, allowing a domestic industry to benefit in terms of both pricing and market share. Once imposed, AD and CVD orders are periodically reviewed, but will remain in place indefinitely.
For our clients, success in these cases results in special duties being imposed on specific imports. This “levels the playing field” and allows our clients to recover from harm caused by unfairly traded imports, earn a reasonable return, invest in their operations, and preserve jobs and manufacturing.
Bristol Group professionals have compiled an unrivaled record of success. We emphasize close partnerships with our clients and sensible, cost-conscious, result-driven approaches to addressing their needs. We are privileged to work with clients both large and small, including privately-held family-owned businesses and publicly-traded Fortune 100 corporations.
Legislative and Regulatory Affairs
Bristol Group professionals help clients understand, navigate, and comply with the complex array of U.S. laws and regulations govern exporting, economic sanctions, and other international transactions.
The issues we assist our clients with include:
- Import and Export Controls, which restrict, and in some instances require licenses for, imports and exports of certain goods, services, software, or technology (including releasing certain technology to foreign nationals);
- Economic Sanctions and Embargoes, which restrict transactions with certain countries, individuals, and entities for national security and foreign policy reasons;
- Anti-Boycott Regulations, which impose reporting requirements regarding, and in some instances prohibit, compliance with certain foreign boycotts and forms of discrimination; and
- The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which prohibits payments to foreign officials with the aim of influencing or inducing them or securing or maintaining business.
We design and help clients implement customized compliance programs and training for personnel to prevent potential violations, screen potential parties to international transactions to determine whether they are subject to restrictions, and conduct compliance due diligence reviews for potential mergers and acquisitions.
Violations of these laws and regulations may result in significant penalties. The U.S. government has prioritized enforcement and imposed record-breaking penalties in recent years.
In the unfortunate instance where a potential violation may have occurred, we conduct sensitive confidential investigations and develop appropriate action plans to address potential enforcement actions and opportunities to mitigate penalties.
Import/Export Controls and Sanctions Compliance
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Specifically, we can advise clients regarding:
· Customs Matters, including determining the correct classification, valuation, country of origin, and applicable duties and fees for imported merchandise; identifying and addressing potential evasion of AD/CVD orders; compliance with free trade agreements, trade preferences, and other duty-free programs; duty drawback and other mechanisms for reducing duties; and administrative processes;
· Import and Export Controls, which restrict, and in some instances require licenses for, imports and exports of certain goods, services, software, or technology (including releasing certain technology to foreign nationals);
· Economic Sanctions and Embargoes, which restrict transactions with certain countries, individuals, and entities for national security and foreign policy reasons;
· Anti-Boycott Regulations, which impose reporting requirements regarding, and in some instances prohibit, compliance with foreign boycotts in which the U.S. does not participate as well as certain forms of discrimination; and
· The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which prohibits payments to foreign officials with the aim of influencing or inducing them or securing or maintaining business.
We can design and help clients implement customized compliance programs and training for personnel to prevent potential violations, screen potential parties to international transactions to determine whether they are subject to restrictions, and conduct due diligence reviews for potential mergers and acquisitions.
Violations of these laws and regulations may result in significant penalties. The U.S. government has prioritized enforcement and imposed record-breaking penalties in recent years.
In the unfortunate instance where a potential violation may have occurred, we can investigate the matter and provide advice regarding addressing a potential enforcement action and potential ways to mitigate penalties, which may include disclosure of an apparent violation
Our Record of Success
The Bristol Group has an exceptional record of successes for American manufacturers. We have represented nearly a dozen different U.S. industries in scores of antidumping and countervailing duty investigations and related proceedings, nearly all of which have results in successful outcomes for our clients. We have brought or defended well over 100 appeals, again compiling a deep record of successful decisions.
As one example, for nearly 20 years we have represented the U.S. steel nail industry and its members. Since 2005, repeated waves of unfairly traded imports have injured the U.S. industry, forcing some producers out of the market entirely and requiring others to curtail operations and cut jobs. We have won eight different cases to combat unfairly-traded imports first from China (2008), the United Arab Emirates (2012), and then Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Oman, and Vietnam (2015). Our work in these cases resulted in the imposition of special antidumping and countervailing duties ranging in amounts up to 324%, meaning that U.S. Customs and Border Protection collects $3.24 in additional duties for each $1 of steel nails brought in by importers.
Companies filing antidumping (AD) and/or countervailing duty (CVD) cases typically experience important benefits ever before the case is completed. Once a case is filed, pricing in the U.S. market typically improves and the domestic industry typically regains market share. These effects are expected and will not undermine your chances of overall success.
In addition to the cases we have successfully brought for the U.S. nail industry, The Bristol Group has represented industries as varies those producing silicon metal, steel staples, decorative tissue and crepe paper, saccharin, chloropicrin, steel wire rod, stainless steel, preserved mushrooms, solar panels and business jet aircraft. For all of our clients in these and other industries, we have brought a consistent and deep commitment to addressing their needs and ensuring their long-term success.
Get in Touch
We can also be reached at (202) 991-2700.