Vancouver Mandarin Chinese Customs and Trade Lawyer

Vancouver Mandarin Chinese Customs and Trade Lawyer

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Many of Vancouver’s most important business owners are engaged in the imports and exports trade. That means dealing with regulations governing the reporting and control of these goods, as well as tariffs, taxes, and duties. 

Our firm allows you to get help for your import-export business from a Mandarin-speaking lawyer. Get the most up-to-date information about how to keep your business compliant and do it in your native language. Ensure that when things go wrong you are thoroughly kept in the loop and able to keep up with everything that’s going on.

Don’t let a language barrier keep you from making good legal decisions for your business. Reach out to our offices today.

How a Customs and Trade Lawyer Helps Your Company

A customs and trade lawyer can keep your business out of trouble. We help you navigate the complex web of international trade policies so that your business remains profitable and successful.

Here are a few of the services we provide.

  • Advise clients on proper classification of merchandise.
  • Advise clients on proper valuation of merchandise.
  • Advise clients on consumer product safety laws.
  • Advise clients on regulations governing their trade goods.
  • Advise clients on customs compliance.
  • Assisting clients with international trade assessments and audits.
  • Advise clients on proper recordkeeping and reporting.
  • Advise clients on how trade agreements impact their business.
  • Represent your business during audits, objections, and appeals.
  • Advise your business on how international sanctions and boycotts impact your trade.
  • Assist your firm with drafting compliance manuals and best practices.
  • Advise your business on restrictive quotas.
  • Advise your business on proper entry procedures.
  • Assist your company in making the proper disclosures.
  • Advise your company on whether or not they’ll have to pay duties or customs.
  • Advise your company on how they might reduce customs or duties.
  • Help you obtain permits for ECL or ACL goods.
  • Help your company avoid penalty actions like detentions, forfeitures, and seizures.
  • Helping you get your goods released.
  • Assistance locating and utilizing government programs that can make your business more efficient.
  • Conduct exporter and broker due diligence on your behalf.


Every country has their own legal requirements. We help you meet your obligations on both sides of the borders you’re working within. 

We help both the large international corporate businesses and the smaller concerns that make up 96% of the import/export market. Regardless of your business size, chosen goods, or needs, our team stands ready to help.

Building a Customs Compliance Program

A formalized custom compliance program can help keep your company out of trouble. We help you develop the policies, procedures, and routine tasks that keep you in compliance with international trade laws. We start with a formal risk analysis which helps us understand where the gaps in your compliance might be and what can be done to address issues and problems.

This plan can be as complex as necessary to cover all the countries you deal with and all the goods you manage. It also offers room for periodic updates in response to changes in the laws and treaties governing your trade.

Such plans can help ensure you provide customs officials with the complete and accurate information they require you to provide when going through duty assessments, and to ensure that all legal decisions that apply to your goods are accurate and worthwhile. 

Tools can include compliance manuals, standard operating procedures, analysis and reporting, the creation of databases to track tariffs and duties, decision trees, due diligence questionnaires, audit protocols, onboarding, program validation, and instructions for dealing with customs brokers. These programs should be enterprise-wide and implemented in such a way as to ensure the use of these measures becomes routine.

In some cases, the very creation of such a program can help defend a business against allegations of impropriety or lawbreaking. It is vital to ensure that every manager in your company is committed to the process, and understands why it’s important to adhere to the formal, written program we will help your team create. It’s also vital for every member of your company to understand the records your company will be required to keep, and to keep those records correctly. We can also help you implement safeguards throughout the lifecycle of your supply chain. Finally, we create an internal and external audit trail that helps you catch and correct problems and violations before regulators do, and advise you on the proper corrective actions to take in order to stay on the correct side of the law. 


Every member of your company is responsible for customs compliance. Giving them policies and procedures to follow helps to ensure that they take the right actions at the right time. 

FAQ

Which goods are regulated in Canada?

Canada controls the import and export of certain goods, including aluminum, agricultural products, firearms, lumber and logs, military strategic goods and technology, steel, and textiles. You can find the full list of controlled products here.

This means you may need a permit, certificate, or other authorization to trade in these goods, and you will need the help of a customs and trade lawyer to determine whether any additional authorizations apply. Sometimes the need for additional authorization is based on the intended use of the good or technology. The law is quite complex in this regard. 

What is an export permit? 

An export permit or brokering permit gives you the right either to export products that are on the Export Control List (ECL) or to send them to countries included on the Area Control List (ACL). 

These permits describe the quantity, technical description, future use for, and nature of the goods that you mean to export. You can usually get them to authorize multiple shipments, up to the expiry of the permit, as long as the cumulative total of the goods doesn’t exceed the quality or value as stated on the permit. This is essentially a legally binding contract between you and the Canadian government. 

Note that you are responsible for verifying that all the information on the permit is true. That means you have to investigate your customers so you can include all of the relevant information about them. This is something our law firm can help with. 

Some companies may be eligible for a General Export Permit (GEP) that expedites the process of obtaining permission to ship certain goods. 

What are origin quotas?

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the EU create origin quotas for specific quantities of specific products. These include chocolates, processed foods, dog and cat foods, textiles, and vehicles. 

Origin quota permits are given out on a first-come, first-serve basis. It is vital to get your application in on time, and to make sure that it’s absolutely correct the first time. Our team can help with this. 

What is dumping in a trade context?

Dumping occurs when a company exports goods to Canada at prices well below the prices they’d charge at home. If the customs authorities determine that you are attempting to dump product then they may be subject to additional duty fees. 

The government also investigates dumping claims to determine whether these goods will have a negative impact on Canadian companies. We can help you navigate any questions that may arise. 

What are free trade agreements?

Free trade agreements are agreements which give Canadian companies preferred access to certain markets. There is an extant free trade agreement with China: The Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act (FIPA).

Our offices can advise you on how this agreement affects your legal rights to make trades between Canada and China.

Resources

Here are a few resources which might prove useful to our Chinese clients.

Even a casual review of most of these resources will help you see why it is a very good idea to work with a customs and trade lawyer. 

Why Choose Us?

Work with an experienced team of Mandarin-speaking lawyers with a solid background in cross-border issues and all of the laws impacting trade. With our help your business can avoid civil and criminal penalties while managing the trade process, and can remain profitable and productive through the ebbs and flows of an ever-shifting international landscape. 

We have worked with a wide variety of companies across many industries. We’re known for our proactive, responsive approach to protecting the business interests of our clients.

Call to set up an appointment today. You’ll be matched with one of our skilled Mandarin-Chinese speaking customs and trade lawyers. We’ll sit down with you to discuss your current and future issues and challenges. When you are an importer or an exporter, you cannot afford to do this alone.

Chinese Lawyer Vancouver serves clients in Vancouver, Abbotsford, Langley, Surrey, and White Rock. Call to set up an appointment today.

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Please note: The information provided on this website is Not Legal Advice. The information may or may not be accurate. The information is for discussion purposes only. Reliance upon any information provided would not be grounds to advance a claim against Chinese Lawyer Vancouver for providing any advice. In order to get a formal legal opinion upon which you may rely about any specific fact scenario, you would have to first retain the services of a lawyer and request a formal legal opinion.