Brenda A. Jacobs Counsel Washington, D.C.  202.736.8149 202.736.8711 Fax Vcard

BRENDA A. JACOBS provides strategic and legal guidance to multinationals, trade associations and governments on trade law and policy, compliance, negotiations, litigation, and legislation. She represents clients before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the U.S. Congress.

Among Ms. Jacobs’ clients are: U.S. importers and retailers of consumer products, multinational manufacturers, and governments and industry associations. 

Projects recently handled by Ms. Jacobs include: representing a coalition of ribbon retailers opposing an antidumping and countervailing duty petition against narrow woven ribbon made in China and Taiwan, advising on interpretation of and compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, coordinating Vietnam's bid for designation under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences program, negotiating a compromise between U.S. importers and environmental interests on implementation of a plant declaration requirement established under the 2008 Farm Bill, securing approval for a waiver of the competitive need limit for Indian-made carpets under the GSP program, obtaining a preliminary injunction in the U.S. Court of International Trade delaying the implementation of safeguard measures against U.S. imports of Chinese products, advising the Government of Colombia on legal issues arising during the negotiation of the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement; assisting companies in identifying and reducing their exposure to antidumping and countervailing duties; conducting internal investigations; and advising firms on compliance with U.S. export controls, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and economic sanctions.

Ms. Jacobs also lobbied for enactment of an enhanced Andean Trade Preferences Act, worked extensively on drafting provisions that became part of the Trade and Development Act of 2000, to provide preferential access to the U.S. market for products of Caribbean Basin, Central American and Sub-Saharan African countries, and advised Vietnam’s apparel industry during negotiation of the U.S.-Vietnam textile agreement and Vietnam’s accession to the World Trade Organization. She also has worked on the development of best practices guidelines on internationally recognized labor rights.

Ms. Jacobs has extensive experience assisting U.S. and foreign manufacturers in meeting customs recordkeeping requirements and assists them in obtaining Customs rulings, preparing protests and responding to penalty proceedings, including intellectual property rights violations, and in drafting contracts, including vendor-purchaser and licensing agreements, and internal compliance programs. She also advises on rules of origin and valuation issues and on matters pending before the WTO, particularly the Dispute Settlement Body, assisting industries and governments in identifying viable claims and litigation strategies under WTO agreements.

Ms. Jacobs previously served as Senior Counsel for Trade Agreements at the U.S. Department of Commerce. She was one of the primary U.S. Government negotiators of the 1986 Protocol extending the Multifiber Arrangement. Before that, Ms. Jacobs was a legal advisor in the U.S. International Trade Commission’s General Counsel’s office, responsible for legal issues arising during antidumping, countervailing duty, safeguard, and Section 337 (patent and trademark) investigations.

Ms. Jacobs is a licensed Customs Broker. She also regularly writes on legal and trade issues for a number of industry publications and is a frequent speaker on current trade and compliance topics at seminars and conferences around the world.

Ms. Jacobs was listed in Chambers Global 2010 as “a leader in the field” of International Trade, Asia- Wide.

Recognitions

• Recipient of the Commerce Department’s General Counsel’s Award for Exceptional Performance, 1987

Publications (selected)

• “U.S.-China Trade: Textiles,” Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law, Fall 2005.
• “Anti-China Mood Surges in Congress,” FashionMannuscript, June 2005.
• “Free Trade Pacts: Opportunities or Irrelevant?,” Outerwear, September 2003.
• “Duty Measures on Antidumping, Countervailing Spark Concern,” Bobbin, February 2001, (reprinted, Just-Style.com, March 2001).
• “Vietnam and the United States, Next Steps to Economic Normalization,” East Asian Executive Reports, January and February 1996.
• “Textiles and Apparel Under the WTO,” China Business Review, March-April 1995.
• “Selling To The U.S. Market - Designing Sales To Reduce Duties,” Asia Textile and Apparel (ATA) Journal, July 1990.
• “Renewal and Expansion of the Multifiber Arrangement,” Law and Policy in International Business, (international journal of Georgetown University Law Center), Spring 1987.

• 61 Sidley Lawyers Recognized in Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business for 2010
  March 18, 2010

• Stalemate on Temporary Import Duty Suspensions Continues
  May 28, 2010
• Court Challenges Commerce over Imports from Non-market Economy Countries
  November 6, 2009