For over 20 years, Nate Bolin has advised and represented US and global clients on export controls, economic sanctions, trade remedies, customs and tariffs, and related areas of national security and international trade laws. Nate has extensive experience with the trade and national security laws and policies governing advanced and emerging technologies in the aerospace, advanced materials, chemicals, defense, medical, oil and gas, semiconductor, telecommunications, and transportation industries. He also regularly helps clients successfully navigate the complex Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) process and national security issues involving investments and cross-border transactions.
Due to his extensive experience with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Nate has been appointed by the Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs to serve on the US State Department’s Defense Trade Advisory Group for five consecutive terms, most recently for the 2024-2026 session. He also advises companies on compliance with export control laws governing commercial, dual-use and nuclear technologies and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions.
In the area of customs and trade regulation, Nate has successfully litigated and resolved more than 100 cases and appellate proceedings involving United States antidumping and countervailing duty laws, Section 232 and 301 tariffs, and customs law matters before US Customs and Border Protection, the US Department of Commerce, US International Trade Commission, Court of International Trade, and Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
His experience in the above areas includes counseling and representing clients in matters concerning:
- Licensing, compliance assessments and monitoring, and voluntary disclosures under the Arms Export Control Act and ITAR for companies and investors in aerospace, defense, semiconductor, electronics, and advanced materials industries.
- The US export controls and related regulations governing the use of encryption and artificial intelligence technology and software.
- Classification of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, semiconductor technology, and encryption technology and software under US export controls.
- Licensing, compliance assessments and monitoring, and voluntary disclosures under the Export Control Reform Act of 2018, International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Export Administration Regulations, US Antiboycott Regulations, and OFAC and US State Department sanctions.
- Mandatory declarations, voluntary notices, responses to notices of inquiry, and successful resolution of non-non-notified transactions under the CFIUS regulations and CFIUS enforcement and voluntary disclosure procedures.
- Section 301 tariffs on imports from China and Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from various countries, including enforcement and successfully obtaining exclusions and exemptions from the tariffs.
- Country of origin, classification, and valuation determinations, rulings, and related prior disclosures under the US customs laws and regulations.
- Implementation and management of transfer pricing arrangements under US customs laws and regulations.
- Rule of origin and dispute settlement under US trade agreements including the US-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA), US-Korea Free Trade Agreement, and US-Japan Trade Agreement.
- Filing and successfully defending antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) petitions before the US Department of Commerce and US International Trade Commission.
- Obtaining scope and anti-circumvention determinations for steel, aluminum, and chemical products under the US AD/CVD laws.
- Detentions and notices of inquiry under US customs laws, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, and US sanctions on imports from Cuba, Russia, and Iran.
- Representing companies and trade associations on trade and national security law and policy matters as a federal lobbyist before the US Senate, House of Representatives, and executive branch agencies.
Before entering private practice, Nate was an international trade specialist at the International Trade Administration of the US Commerce Department, where he worked on trade negotiations and trade agreements enforcement and compliance. During law school, he served as a law clerk to the US State Department’s Office of the Legal Advisor in the area of international claims and investment disputes.
Since 2009, Nate has been an adjunct professor at the George Washington University Law School. He teaches courses in international trade law and the US legal system and was a visiting scholar at the law school from 2012-2013. He has worked and studied in Japan and is fluent in Japanese.
- Named to Attorney Intel’s “Top 25 Attorneys in Technology of 2024”
- Named to The Best Lawyers in America® for International Trade and Finance Law, 2023-2024
- US Department of State, Defense Trade Advisory Group, Federal Advisory Committee Member, 2016 - present
- The George Washington University Law School, Adjunct Professor, 2009 - present
- Speaker, “Updating Compliance Around the Evolving Advanced Computing and Semiconductor Rule: Demystifying October 2023 Rule Updates, TGLs, Impacted ICs and Gap Analysis,” American Conference Institute: China Trade Controls 2024, 12 November 2024
- Speaker, “Asia-Pacific Security Policy: What Future Developments in the Region Mean for Bearing and Gear Companies,” Webinar presented by K&L Gates with American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA) and American Bearing Manufacturers Association (ABMA), 23 October 2024
- Speaker, “CFIUS Considerations for Japanese Investors,” 一般財団法人海外投融資情報財団(Japan Institute for Overseas Investment), 12 September 2024
- Speaker “Investing in High-Tech Industries in the United States” Chinese National Federation of Industries and K&L Gates, 10 September 2024
- Speaker “Investing in the Semiconductor Industry in the United States” Chinese National Federation of Industries and K&L Gates, 9 September 2024
- Presenter, “Navigating Defense Tech: Policy and Regulatory Trends and Developments,” 21 May 2024
- Speaker, “Recent ITAR Developments for Universities and Research Institutions,” The George Washington University Law School and US State Department, 6 November 2023
- Speaker, 9th National Conference on CFIUS, “How CFIUS is Thinking about Green Technology and Energy Deals Being Reviewed,” 14 April 2023
- Presenter, "Proficiency Series on Export Administration Regulations Compliance," American Conference Institute, 2022 and 2023
- Speaker, "11th Advanced Forum on Import Compliance & Enforcement," American Conference Institute, 8-9 November 2022
- Speaker, "Global trade controls: the impact of foreign policy on international commerce from a perspective of the EU, UK, US, and China," ICC Webinar, 7 June 2022
- “US Treasury Department Moves Closer to Implementing Outbound Investment Restrictions Through Latest Proposed Regulations,” The Global Trade Law Journal, November–December 2024
- Co-Author, " Voluntary CFIUS Filings May Limit Uncertain Outcomes," Law360, 25 June 2021
- Author, "Trade Update: Key trade challenges, opportunities facing the gear industry in 2021," GearSolutions, 15 April 2021
- Author, "The top five challenges and opportunities facing the industry in 2021," Advance Textiles Source, 22 March 2021
- "The sanctions mirror: Russian countermeasures pose a 'conflict of law'," Reuters, 17 March 2022