“I have dealt with a wide variety of Customs and international trade issues over my 50-year career. This enables me to resolve the specific issues at hand while being cognizant of other important considerations that may not be readily apparent to importers and exporters.”
Thomas J. O’Donnell
Of Counsel
- Washington, DC
- todonnell@ofwlaw.com
- 202-518-6323
Tom O’Donnell has 50 years of counseling and litigation experience. He focuses on all aspects of the import and export process, including tariff classification and valuation of imported merchandise, antidumping and countervailing duty issues, country of origin determinations, country of origin marking, free trade agreements, Customs penalties and seizures, Customs brokers issues, complex tariff provisions, import compliance programs, and intellectual property protection. As a Licensed Customs Broker, he is familiar with the details of the Customs entry process and how Customs operates. He litigates cases in the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He makes representations to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the congressional committees involved in international trade and tariff matters.Â
Customs and International Trade Law
Tom counsels’ importers and exporters of merchandise of all kinds from all countries and guides them through the maze of laws and regulations governing international trade. He routinely deals with the following kinds of issues:
- Customs penalties, seizures, and detentions resulting from alleged violations involving tariff classification, valuation (assists, royalties, related party pricing), intellectual property, antidumping and countervailing duties, complex tariff provisions, and trade agreements.
- Utilization of special tariff provisions, duty preference programs, and bilateral and regional free trade agreements.
- Prior disclosures of Customs law violations, which minimize or eliminate exposure to substantial Customs penalties, and preparing petitions for mitigation of penalties and liquidated damages assessments.
- Customs bonded warehouses, foreign trade zones, and container freight stations.
- Section 301 duties, including applying for exemptions and advising on assembly/manufacturing operations in third countries that confer origin on the finished goods.
- Forced labor issues and forced labor verifications.
- Obtaining Customs binding rulings and protesting excess duty assessments.
- Antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings before the U.S. Department of Commerce, obtaining scope rulings.
- Developing Customs and trade compliance programs especially tailored to the individual needs of importers and exporters.
- Representation before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in matters involving trade policy and trade legislation, drafting bills on trade and tariff matters for consideration by the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee.
Litigation
- Tom tries cases involving import-export issues in the U.S. Court of International and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He is also involved in litigation in other federal and state courts where import-export issues are involved.
Credentials
Education
J.D., Loyola University Chicago School of Law (1973)
B.S., cum laude, Florida Atlantic University (1967)
Illinois
New York
District of Columbia
Court Admissions
Bar Admissions
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of International Trade
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
U.S. District Court – Northern Illinois
U.S. District Court – Eastern District of Wisconsin
Illinois Supreme Court
New York Court of Appeals
District of Columbia
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