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.

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.

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.

Brian is the director of the Forced Labor Division within the Trade Remedy Law Enforcement Directorate (TRLED) at U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Office of Trade where he leads a team to conduct forced labor investigations and enforce the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).  Prior to his current position, Brian was the director of CBP’s Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) investigations of anti-dumping and countervailing duty evasion and managed its e-Allegation program.  Prior to joining the Office of Trade, Brian served in several roles providing planning and risk analysis support for CBP’s trade, global engagement, and border security missions.  Before coming to CBP, Brian worked at DHS Headquarters on border security planning and cargo and transportation security.  He also worked as a budget examiner at the Office of Management and Budget during the 2016 federal budget cycle.

Brian holds a Master of Public Administration and a Master of International Studies from the University of Washington, completed graduate work in Customs & International Trade from the University of Texas, and has undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Computer Science from the University of Washington.

Maytee Pereira is a Senior Managing Director in the Customs & International Trade practice, located in New York.  She has over 30 years experience in the area of customs law and international trade matters and has assisted firm clients from myriad industry sectors including consumer and industrial products, Bioscience and Pharma, as well as apparel & textiles and footwear, involved in import/export activities in taking full advantage of both U.S. and foreign customs laws to minimize their import related liabilities while managing compliance with all applicable customs and export requirements. Maytee is particularly involved in developing and supporting customs valuation strategies that align to complex tax planning as well as in designing implementing streamlined global supply chain strategies aimed at minimizing overall duty expense for inbound and outbound clients as well as opportunities to leverage Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). She also assists clients in administrative proceedings and compliance audits before the U.S. Bureau of Customs & Border Protection (CBP), implementing Foreign Trade Zones and has preparing to participate in Customs programs such as the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), Duty Drawback, Importer Self-Asessment (ISA), Reconciliation and others.

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.