Jason Waite concentrates his practice on the regulations impacting the global movement of goods and technology. He counsels clients on all aspects of customs law, export controls and economic sanctions, with an emphasis on compliance, transactional matters and strategic planning, and enforcement defense.
Jason conducts internal investigations and compliance self-assessments, develops internal trade compliance and training programs, represents clients in audits and origin verifications, and guides clients through voluntary disclosures of actual and potential import and export violations. Jason has significant experience representing clients that are the subject of government investigations involving alleged violations of the export, import and economic sanctions laws, as well as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He defends clients in formal and informal administrative proceedings and in litigation concerning civil and criminal penalties, debarment, forfeiture, and liquidated damages. In transactional and strategic planning matters, Jason advocates for favorable advance rulings, commodity classifications, advisory opinions, and commodity jurisdiction determinations, and handles complex export licensing matters. He represents clients in conducting trade compliance due diligence and in negotiating and documenting trade compliance responsibilities among parties to sales and procurement transactions and in corporate dispositions.
He is a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences on international trade topics.
- Advised clients in the aerospace, apparel, automotive, cosmetics, consumer products, electronics, energy, food and beverage, machinery and equipment, medical products, software, sporting goods, technology, telecommunications, textiles and other industrial sectors on all aspects of U.S. and foreign import and export regulations.
- Represented clients in prior disclosures of import violations related to tariff classification, valuation, origin and eligibility for preferential treatment.
- Guided clients through successful voluntary disclosures of violations of the export and economic sanctions regulations.
- Designed and led internal trade compliance reviews.
- Developed and implemented import, export, economic sanctions, and FCPA compliance policies and procedures, as well as training programs.
- Defended exporters in a variety of investigations and enforcement proceedings before the Office of Export Enforcement of the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
- Defended the former president of a company in a criminal case related to the unlicensed exports of biological materials—one of BIS’s recent “Major Enforcement Cases.”
- Obtained numerous favorable export classifications, advisory opinions, and Commodity Jurisdiction determinations from the Departments of Commerce, State and Treasury on behalf of clients engaged in the export of defense and dual use items.
- Secured over 100 binding rulings and protest decisions from CBP addressing the origin, classification, marking and value of imported products, as well as the eligibility of products for preferential treatment under the NAFTA, CAFTA, GSP, HTSUS 9802 and similar programs, and helped clients recover and save tens of millions of dollars in duty.
- Represented importers in Focused Assessments conducted by CBP.
- Spearheaded the resolution of complex export licensing matters through escalation and appeal of denied license applications.
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October 29, 2010
In The Press
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19 December 2007
In The Press
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1 December 2006
Community Service
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March 2012
Publications
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November 2011
Publications
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August 2007
Publications
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1 June 2005
Publications
Past Events
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October 21, 2011
Seminar
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June 21-22, 2011
Seminar
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March 18, 2011
Seminar
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September 21, 2010
Seminar
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November 10, 2009
Seminar
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April 23, 2009
Seminar
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June 18, 2008
Seminar
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October 18, 2007
Seminar
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April 26, 2007
Seminar
- Chair, Trade Agreements Subcommittee of TechAmerica
- Vice Chair, board of directors of Ayuda, Inc., a nonprofit legal and social services organization
- Editor, Emory International Law Review, 1997-1998
- Member, Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section and the International Section of the American Bar Association
- Licensed U.S. Customs Broker