Luis F. Arandia, Jr. delivers responsive representation in a wide range of international trade matters, including customs and import compliance, export controls, economic sanctions, and trade remedies.

Specifically, Luis represents importers and exporters before federal agencies that administer international trade regulations, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the Census Bureau, the U.S. Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). He also advocates for clients under agency enforcement, whether in the context of investigations, penalties, or voluntary disclosures.

Imports

Luis has deep experience in a wide range of substantive customs issues, including tariff classification, country of origin marking, customs valuation, free trade agreements and tariff preference programs under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA/NAFTA), counterfeits and border enforcement of IP rights, and trade remedy (antidumping and countervailing) duties. He also advises clients on special tariff actions, including Section 301 China tariffs, Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs, and Section 201 safeguards. 

He has experience with prior disclosures, protests, penalty and seizure petitions, compliance audits, enforcement actions before CBP, as well as trade litigation before the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He assists clients in developing and implementing effective compliance programs to help ensure that reasonable care is exercised over import matters.

In the course of his career, Luis has achieved over $1 million in Section 301 exclusion refunds for consumer products clients, and he is also well versed on the application Section 232 tariffs.

Exports and Economic Sanctions

Where export matters are concerned, Luis assists clients in navigating the U.S. export control laws, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), regulations administered by OFAC, the Foreign Trade Regulations, and the anti-boycott requirements administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Luis advises clients on export control enforcement actions and sanctions risk assessments. Additionally, he conducts internal investigations, handles voluntary self-disclosures, and designs and implements trade controls compliance programs. With practicality and creativity, Luis is adept in Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) classification of products and technology in various industries, including aerospace, electronics, oil and gas, and medical devices.

He has managed and prepared multiple voluntary self-disclosures for aerospace and industrial clients before BIS and DDTC, resulting in no penalties. And he has advised and prepared license and classification requests concerning BIS encryption controls for software and mobile app products. 

In terms of economic sanctions, Luis analyzes and advises on OFAC regulations in connection to Iran, Russia, the Ukraine, and Venezuela, as well as to anti-boycott regulations for various industrial clients.

Further, Luis is a member of the team assisting the Special Compliance Coordinator appointed by the U.S. Department of Commerce to monitor, assess and report on the U.S. export control compliance of Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation, of Shenzhen, China, and ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd. Of Hi-New Shenzhen, China (collectively, ZTE).

Arthur Bodek is a partner in the New York office of GDLSK. His practice is focused on import and export trade law, Customs law and other regulatory law as it relates to international trade. Much of his work centers around developing creative strategies to maximize benefits under Free Trade Agreements and a host of other duty-free/reduced duty tariff programs (e.g., U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Central American Free Trade Agreement, Generalized System of Preferences, African Growth and Opportunity Act, Caribbean Basin Initiative, and many others). A career highlight was being invited to be an attorney representative on a trade mission to Botswana and Lesotho to educate manufacturers, local businesses and government officials in how they could benefit from the AGOA and other U.S. trade laws. Mr. Bodek also works with clients to develop favorable Customs valuation and tariff classification strategies to generate Customs duty-savings as well as production-sharing and other strategies to minimize the impact of duties assessed under trade remedy provisions (e.g., China 301, Steel / Aluminum 232, etc.).  In addition, Mr. Bodek devotes significant time to issues arising under CBP forced labor Withhold Release Orders and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

Other areas where Arthur devotes much of his time include helping clients across a host of product sectors navigate their way through the complexities of country of origin rules, China 301 duties and Section 232 tariffs.  In recent years, Arthur has been particularly focused on assisting clients with forced labor enforcement proceedings under a variety of Withhold Release Orders (WROs) and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).

Arthur regularly represents clients in connection with CBP requests, audits, investigations and enforcement actions. He is also involved in supply chain issues including those related to forced labor and sustainability as well as importer security programs such as the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT).

Mr. Bodek regularly counsels clients on compliance issues and frequently speaks to trade audiences around the country and the globe on these topics.

He is the author of “United States Customs Service Audits and Record Keeping Requirements,” The Transportation Lawyer, Vol. 3 No. 4 (1994), “U.S. Customs Service Announces Sweeping Changes In Rules of Origin For Textiles and Apparel,” Apparel Trade and Transportation News (1995), and various customs updates columns in the Journal of Commerce and elsewhere.

For over three years, Eric Batt has served as the Center Director for the Apparel, Footwear and Textiles (AFT) Center strategically located in San Francisco, California. The AFT Center oversees the entry post-release trade activity for an industry sector comprised of over 74,000 importers with over $121.5 billion in annual imports. This year, Eric completed 27 years of combined federal government service with both the U.S. Customs Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).  During his early career, Eric served as an Import Specialist, Customs Inspector and Supervisory Paralegal Specialist in the Fines, Penalties and Forfeitures office. Eric has also held various management, liaison, and operational program positions at CBP Headquarters in Washington, DC for over seven years and formerly served as the Assistant Port Director of Trade at the Port of San Francisco.

Alice J. Buchanan is the Assistant Director of Partnership in the Apparel, Footwear, and Textiles Center of Excellence and Expertise (AFT Center).  When she began her career with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in 1992, she was learning fashion sketching, pattern drafting, and millinery at the Academy of Art in San Francisco.  Never did she imagine that there would one day be a CBP Apparel, Footwear and Textile industry-focused Center organizational structure for the processing of post-release trade activities.

Ms. Buchanan has 25 years of experience with CBP across a broad range of trade program areas. She started her career as an Import Specialist on the machinery commodity specialist Team at the Port of San Francisco. In 1998, she relocated to New York, where she worked as a National Import Specialist Assistant for handbags and luggage. While in New York, she studied fashion design in the evenings at the Fashion Institute of Technology. In 2001, Ms. Buchanan transferred to CBP Headquarters in Washington, D.C., where she worked and served for nearly eight years.  She was the Branch Chief for the Antidumping/Countervailing Duty (AD/CVD), Account Management, and Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Coordination branches. During this time, she participated in negotiations for the 2006 U.S./Canadian Softwood Lumber Agreement, oversaw over five billion dollars in AD/CVD refunds, supervised the issuance of instruction messages from the Department of Commerce, trained National Account Managers and participated in the development of ACE and the ACE Business Rules Document. In 2009, she returned to San Francisco as a Supervisory National Account Manager.  In this position, she was a virtual supervisor of employees in other geographic locations.  She also researched, analyzed, and developed policies for imports of petroleum via pipeline. 

As Assistant Center Director of Partnership in the AFT Center since June 2013, Ms. Buchanan has participated in building the AFT Center from its inception to its current state.  She developed processes for the assignment and routing of entry summary and post summary activities.  With a focus on industry partnerships, she implemented account based processing for the AFT Center Partnership Division. Specializing in training and training development for the AFT Center, she has trained Center employees via webinar and in person in a variety of areas.  Ms. Buchanan works in the historic San Francisco Customhouse.  She enjoys living in California with her family and going to classical music concerts.

Julia K. Hughes is President of the United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA), which represents brands, retailers, importers, and wholesalers based in the United States and doing business globally. She represents the industry in front of the U.S. government as well as international governments and stakeholders, explaining how fashion companies create high quality jobs in the United States and economic opportunities around the world.

An expert on textile and apparel trade issues, Julie has testified before Congress and the Executive Branch. She frequently speaks at international conferences including the China & Asia Textile Forum, Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), Harvard University’s Bangladesh Development Conference, MAGIC, Prime Source Forum, Vietnam Textile Summit, and others.

Julie served as the first President and is one of the founders of the Washington Chapter of Women in International Trade (WIIT) and is one of the founders of the WIIT Charitable Trust. She also was the first President of the Organization of Women in International Trade (OWIT).  In 1992, she received the Outstanding Woman in International Trade award and in 2008, the WIIT Lifetime Achievement Award. She also is a member of the International Women’s Forum.

She has an M.A. in International Studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

Thais is a Director with PwC’s Customs & International Trade Practice, advising US and multinational companies on various issues related to customs compliance and import-related duty, tax and fee savings opportunities. Thais has over sixteen years experience with PwC in different capacities, including 13 years acting as tax advisor in Brazil, supporting clients to address a variety of complex tax issues.

Thais helps clients navigate the statutory, regulatory and practical requirements, and assists companies in identifying savings opportunities and implementing transactional structures to realize savings. Thais support companies assessing their trade compliance functions, and to develop proactive, efficient operations at the local, regional and global level.

Thais holds a Law Degree and a postgraduate degree in Corporate and Tax Law, both from Brazil and holds a LL.M. degree in International Business and Trade Law from Fordham University in New York. Thais is admitted to practice law in Brazil.

Krista Rickman is currently the Commercial Strategic Lead for Cargill Cotton, responsible for the cotton sustainability portfolio and engaging with brands and retailers. Krista has held several roles within the cotton business during her 30-year career with Cargill to include Global Operations Leader where she managed trade execution, logistics, supply chain, and warehousing, and North American Controller. Krista currently serves as a board member for American Cotton Shippers Association, International Cotton Association, National Cotton Council, US Cotton Trust Protocol, The Seam, and EWR. She is the current President of the Southern Cotton Association.

Krista is a graduate of the University of Memphis and lives in Olive Branch, Mississippi with her husband, Tim. Krista and Tim have two sons, Ben and Zach.