Craig A. Koenigs

Craig focuses his practice on customs, international trade, administrative law, intellectual property law and litigation. He represents clients in compliance, enforcement and licensing matters involving the import and export of goods and in trade-related litigation. He has a niche expertise in regulatory matters related to alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives.

Craig advises clients on the application of U.S. customs laws and free trade agreements, including issues related to classification, duty, valuation, drawback, marking and rules of origin. He represents clients in penalty and protest matters before U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). He assists clients with developing compliance programs, conducting internal audits and dealing with government seizures, detentions, audits and investigations. In addition, Craig represents clients in trade remedies matters, including antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) proceedings and in trade-related litigation before the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Craig has extensive experience in regulatory compliance and enforcement matters related to alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives governed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These matters involve generally issues related to licensing, permitting, labeling, transportation, storage, sale and record keeping. He represents clients on matters involving federal and state laws related to the manufacture, importation, distribution and sale of cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, other tobacco products, electronic cigarettes and e-vapor products, including permitting, licensing, registration, product listing, ingredient listing, warning label plans, and sales and marketing restrictions. He also assists clients obtain membership as participating manufacturers under the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) and comply with state tobacco product laws.

Craig also provides broad-based intellectual property services including trademark and copyright prosecution and counseling.

Experience

• Represented a manufacturer in a protest before U.S. Customs and Border Protection challenging the reclassification and rate advance of imported articles subject to the agricultural actual use provisions resulting in a significant refund of duties and other charges
• Represented an importer of wearing apparel in U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigation concerning valuation of merchandise resulting in acceptance of valid prior disclosure
• Represented a U.S. manufacturer in an antidumping proceeding against Chinese producers of copper valves resulting in the imposition of significant antidumping duties by the U.S. Department of Commerce against the Chinese producers
• Advise clients concerning the application and compliance with FDA requirements under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
• Routinely represent clients obtain TTB permits as manufacturers and importers of tobacco products and processed tobacco
• Represented a tobacco product company in the acquisition of a manufacturing facility and obtaining federal manufacturing and import permits and state manufacturing and distribution licenses
• Represented an export warehouse proprietor satisfactorily resolve a regulatory enforcement action by the TTB related to the exportation, record keeping and excise taxes of tobacco products
• Manage the intellectual property portfolio of a national trade association