Projects

Regulatory Problem Solving

We focus on regulatory problem solving with respect to U.S. trade agencies, Customs and Border Protection, Justice (antitrust), and Treasury.  Our activities in this area involve analytical support on economic, political, and legal issues arising in trade law investigations; assessment of the impact of currency, trade, tax, regulatory, technological, market, and political developments on clients’ interests, and creative solutions to public policy issues.

• When a bidder for a state-owned steel company in the Pacific needed to build an anti-trust argument to support its case, IAS performed an analysis based on the Department of Justice's Herfindahl-Hirschman Index method.

• When an importer of spare parts for heavy construction equipment had a dispute with Customs over the open tariff classfication of parts, IAS prepared and presented an appeal of the ruling.

• When the Fair Currency Alliance needed a strategy for countering foreign currency undervaluation, IAS took the lead in developing several alternative responses under U.S. trade laws.

• When the steel Voluntary Restraint Agreement was up for renewal in 1988, IAS analyzed the deficiencies of the existing short supply mechanism and drafted a proposal to correct them that was subsequently implemented by the Department of Commerce.

• For a major foreign industry association, IAS researched and drafted extensive comments on a proposed Department of Commerce regulation for antidumping and countervailing duty investigations.