International Trade Lawyers

In an interconnected world, international trade presents both opportunities and challenges. Our international trade practice provides comprehensive counsel across all aspects of global commerce, from trade remedies and disputes to policy development and regulatory compliance.

With 19 offices worldwide and a strategic alliance with the trade-specialized international boutique Appleton Luff, we deliver sophisticated legal solutions that help businesses and governments navigate the complex landscape of international trade law. This partnership plays to Curtis’ core strengths while scaling our capabilities to offer clients seamless service across multiple jurisdictions and practice areas.

Curtis’ collaborative approach ensures that whether a client needs standalone advisory services or full-scale dispute resolution, they receive coordinated, strategic counsel tailored to their specific needs. With on-the-ground expertise and cultural understanding across key markets, we represent governments, importers, exporters, and multinational corporations in complex trade matters.

Our core areas of excellence include:

Trade Remedies & Disputes

Together with our strategic alliance partner Appleton Luff, we offer comprehensive trade remedy counsel that combines advisory expertise in strategy and risk management with sophisticated disputes capabilities across multiple jurisdictions, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, European Union, South America, Asia, and Africa. With our significant collective experience, we provide strategic counsel on trade remedy law, helping clients navigate complex regulatory environments and respond effectively to challenges from antidumping investigations, countervailing duty and anti-subsidy cases, safeguard measures, import duties, tariffs, and other trade restraints such as tariffs.

Curtis represents a diverse range of clients—including governments, importers, and US exporters—throughout the entire trade remedy process and in all aspects of trade remedy litigation, from initial investigations through administrative reviews and appeals. Our team has secured favorable outcomes before major trade authorities and tribunals, including US agencies such as the International Trade Commission (ITC) and the Department of Commerce (DOC), European courts including the General Court and Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and various third-country administrative agencies.

More details available on our Trade Remedies & Disputes page.

Trade Policy Development

Trade remedies cannot be achieved in isolation, which is why Curtis' comprehensive approach addresses immediate trade remedy challenges alongside long-term trade policy development, including market access strategies, trade barrier analysis, and the impact of trade agreements on our clients' operations. Our experienced lawyers regularly advise governments on critical aspects of trade law and regulations, from the drafting, implementation, and administration of national trade remedies laws to the complex regulatory aspects of international trade such as customs procedures, tariffs, and broader trade issues.

Beyond government advisory work, we counsel international corporate and business clients on a wide range of trade policy issues, including negotiating free trade agreements and understanding and mitigating the comprehensive impact of evolving trade regulations on their business operations. Through strategic advocacy and lobbying efforts conducted together with our alliance partner Appleton Luff, we actively work to advance our clients' interests in the dynamic landscape of international trade policy.

Export Control & Economic Sanctions

Curtis' international trade attorneys have wide-ranging experience in matters involving export controls requirements, including:

• Expert guidance on export control regulations including EAR, ITAR, and EU controls;
• Licensing support and compliance programs for cross-border trade and commerce;
• Representation in export control investigations and government enforcement actions;
• Comprehensive experience with OFAC, CFIUS, BIS, DDTC, and international trade authorities; and
• Economic sanctions proceedings involving foreign investments in the US under CFIUS, anti-money laundering regimes (AML), and more.

More details available on our Export Control page.

Supply Chain Management

Modern supply chains are increasingly complicated, involving multiple countries and production steps that create complex compliance challenges. Curtis' international trade team helps clients apply rules of origin requirements throughout their entire supply chain and ensure compliance at each critical stage of production and distribution. Leveraging our presence across the firm's 19 global locations and boosted by our strategic alliance with Appleton Luff, our international team provides businesses with the expertise needed to navigate today's intricate regulatory landscape.

We guide clients through complex regulations based on free trade agreements and preferential programs, ensure compliance with substantial transformation requirements and last country of production rules, and provide strategic advice on preferential tariff rates and duty drawback programs. Our comprehensive supply chain services also include customs compliance and risk management guidance, mandatory customs marking and labeling requirements, and skilled representation of businesses during customs audits and investigations.

Free Trade Agreements

Together with our strategic alliance partner Appleton Luff, we provide comprehensive advisory services to governments and businesses on regional and preferential trade agreements, including both bilateral and multilateral arrangements. Our services span the full lifecycle of trade agreements, from negotiating and drafting new agreements to conducting detailed impact assessments for proposed FTAs and ensuring ongoing compliance with existing policies and commitments.

Curtis offers specialized advice on a wide range of complex trading agreement issues affecting relationships between the EU and the US and their global trading partners across Mexico, Canada, Asia, and Africa. With our deep understanding of global trade matters and the evolving political landscape, we help clients navigate the complexities of new and emerging trade policies in the current environment. Our team brings considerable practical experience with major trade frameworks including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, and numerous other regional and bilateral arrangements.

Subsidy Regulation & State Aid

Curtis attorneys possess specialized expertise in the European Union's Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), helping clients understand the comprehensive scope of FSR requirements, comply with complex notification and data requirements surrounding financing deals, and effectively manage associated risks. We also provide strategic advice on state aid and subsidy control matters, assisting clients in the EU in understanding the intricate rules and requirements necessary for accessing and retaining public funding while maintaining compliance with applicable regulations.

Our global team offers comprehensive advice on subsidy-related requirements across multiple jurisdictions, with cross-functional teams covering a wide spectrum of industries and specialized areas. Our expanding expertise includes guidance on social and environmental standards (including forced labor compliance), critical minerals supply chain issues, and barriers to services in emerging areas such as digital markets and artificial intelligence, positioning us to address the evolving challenges facing businesses in the modern regulatory environment.