Joel D. Kaufman is a partner in Steptoe's Washington office, where he is a member of the International Trade practice. He advises clients on the impact of US and foreign trade regulations on a company’s global operations.

International Trade Litigation
Mr. Kaufman’s practice is primarily devoted to international trade litigation involving US statutes designed to provide import relief. Mr. Kaufman has extensive experience in representing both US and foreign clients before the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission in matters arising under the antidumping and countervailing duty statutes (Title VII), in global safeguard investigations (Section 201), and in unfair import investigations under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, as well as in related appellate litigation and in enforcement proceedings before US Customs & Border Protection.

Throughout his career, Mr. Kaufman has represented clients in all types of international trade matters involving the executive, legislative and judicial branches. He has also counseled clients with regard to their ongoing involvement in various WTO proceedings and the interplay of those proceedings and concurrent federal appellate actions and appeals. He has primarily focused his practice on complex administrative proceedings before federal agencies, handling over 100 antidumping duty cases. For more than two decades, Mr. Kaufman has represented his client in the antidumping duty investigations and administrative reviews involving antifriction bearings. These reviews are unique in that they involve numerous concurrent orders and require the coordination and management of data and personnel from six countries. In other trade matters, Mr. Kaufman has represented clients in a diverse range of industries, including steel, wheat, chemicals, industrial equipment and machinery, optical equipment, consumer goods, bicycles, footwear and wine.

Mr. Kaufman has assisted clients in establishing comprehensive programs to monitor compliance with US laws affecting imports. In conjunction with such programs, he has developed complex economic models integrating the legal requirements of US trade laws, with consideration, where necessary, of the trade and customs laws of other countries. Mr. Kaufman also advises clients with respect to the legal implications of business ventures in a global marketplace, with particular emphasis on the interplay between these decisions and international trade issues.