WBD Global Trade Advisors

Our group brings decades of legal and international business experience to support Womble Bond Dickinson's ITNS team. Our elite team of global trade advisors includes senior trade professionals who previously served as ITAR Empowered Officials, trade compliance managers, corporate trade consultants, and a distinguished law professor specializing in global arms control. 

We offer compliance risk mitigation services customized to meet the needs of global companies. These services allow you to trade and invest safely while simultaneously achieving global best practices and conserving economic resources.

Team Services

Trade Risk Assessment: The WBD Global Trade Advisors Team offers risk and program gap assessments tailored to clients' market sector and presence. These assessments allow us to advise on the scope and design of a sanctions and export control compliance program appropriate to the client's level of risk. Assessment services include on-site meetings with key officers familiar with the client's export market and business, procurement, and product development.

Internal Regulatory Compliance Program Audit: Our advisors conduct audits of your existing internal trade regulatory compliance program, policies, and practices. Our typical audit predicates on the elements of a comprehensive trade compliance program based on emerging international standards, including U.S. and E.U. guidelines.

Trade Compliance Program Development: We can help you develop a customized internal trade regulatory compliance program, including recommendations on staffing, training provision, and trade compliance policies and procedures, e.g., screening and classification, tailored to the client's risk profile.

Trade Regulatory Compliance Program Manual: We assist clients in drafting or augmenting a comprehensive trade regulatory compliance manual tailored to their individual risk assessment and business model using our proven and proprietary templates.

Customized Trade Regulatory Compliance Training: Our team offers clients customized training courses and materials to augment their internal trade regulatory compliance program.

• Online Sanctions and Export Control Compliance Course: Our online course catalogue provides an in-depth introduction to U.S. sanctions and export controls, E.U. sanctions and export controls, U.N. sanctions, and the relevant trade controls of other major markets.
• Introduction to Export Controls and Sanctions: Led by WBD's credentialed team of global trade advisors, We designed this training workshop to assist you in reviewing and contextualizing the complex global trading environment and associated regulatory regimes. This course explains the geopolitical economic landscape, export controls, import and customs controls, sanctions regulations, supply chain and targeting best practices, and FDI risks and regulations. Participants also learn strategies for mitigating trade risks and establishing a trade-focused regulatory compliance program.
• Customized Trade Compliance Training: Customized training on trade regulatory compliance and foreign transaction risks, e.g., corrupt practices and geopolitical trends. Select topics include compliance audits, record keeping, management commitment, screening, product classification, and reporting and corrective action.

Trade Compliance Database: Womble Bond Dickinson's proprietary database service provides information on export, import, and other trade controls, customs-related information, and FDI rules in over 75 countries. This service includes monthly updates on export controls, sanctions, customs, worldwide trade developments, and transaction-specific inquiries. The database is available for subscription.

Foreign Transactions Compliance Services: We assist with a range of ad hoc assignments, including but not limited to:

• Foreign Direct Investment (CFIUS and non-U.S. jurisdictions) reviews/analysis
• Sanctions and export control questions
• Voluntary self-disclosures
• Commodity classifications
• Jurisdiction and classification requests and analysis
• Licensing activities to include preparation, submission, tracking, and implementation of export license applications
• Custom research on export control and sanctions issues, product classification, supplier management, logistics support, and geopolitical risk analyses
• Restricted party screening
• Investigations and corrective action implementation
• Filing electronic export information in the Automated Export System (AES)
• Arms industry/munitions trade compliance (ATF)

Geopolitical Risk Advisory Services: Our advisors have extensive national security, intelligence, and commerce backgrounds, offering a different perspective on the ever-evolving global landscape. We understand the intricate relationships, challenges, and tensions shaping the world today. We leverage this wealth of knowledge to assist business leaders facing a range of challenges. Working closely with C-suite executives, we develop cost-effective strategies to mitigate and monitor geopolitical risks across various business activities and locations, using topical reports and briefings.