Working With Legal Counsel

Do You Need To Hire An International Trade Attorney?

28 March 2019 by Janet Myers

Engaging in international trade is an activity that can help a company significantly raise its profile and profits. Doing so, however, carries with a new level of legal issues and compliance requirements. If you're worried about running afoul of such rules, here's how you can benefit from retaining the services of an international trade attorney like those at Braumiller Law Group.

What Can Be Shipped, and Where It Can Go

It's important to always remember that international trade is not inherently free or even fair trade. Governments have a lot of reasons for why they do or do not allow goods to leave a country or to come into it.

Anyone who has tried to bring back food through customs after a vacation has run into this issue in its simplest form. Regulators monitor trade closely to ensure that invasive species don't enter their countries. It's easy to appreciate how that scales up when companies are importing or exporting large amounts of goods.

Some rules can seem a little more obtuse. For example, restrictions on things like the importation of steel into advanced economies like the U.S. are common. There may also be applicable tariffs.

Another class of rules governs things that might be re-purposed for military or terrorist uses. For example, software exports to countries like Russia and Syria are often limited. Facing a criminal penalty of $1 million per violation alongside the risk of jail time is probably enough to motivate most people to get in touch with an international trade attorney before making a deal.

Dealing With Customers, Services Providers and Suppliers

As is the case with any other kind of business transaction, you'll also need legal help working out agreements with folks on the other end of international trade. When you add in the necessity of shipping and dealing with port controls, this can get complex very quickly. Likewise, mechanisms for the verification of the integrity of each shipment need to be in place, and there has to be a means to resolve concerns when shipments come up short or are messed up.

Most nations reserve some rights to their citizens in adjudicating matters, regardless of the terms of a contract. This can make questions about venue and even which country's laws apply to a situation more interesting. The meaning of a contract clause can be radically different depending on the country, and an international trade attorney can help you sort out the differences.

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