James Min has nearly three decades of extensive and practical experience advising clients on international trade and business law. In addition to years of private practice advising multinational corporations, investment funds, start-ups, governments, and non-governmental organizations, Mr. Min previously served as the global chair of international trade law for Deutsche Post DHL that serves every country in the world including North Korea, Iran, Cuba and Syria. Previously, he was a senior trade attorney for FedEx Express where he assisted the company’s entry into markets such as Libya, Vietnam, China, Russia and Kazakhstan by utilizing international trade laws. He also served as a private sector trade advisor to the U.S. Government during the Bush Administration. Earlier in his career, Mr. Min served as a trade attorney for the U.S. Department of Treasury, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Mr. Min specializes in economic sanctions, export controls, CFIUS, customs, import regulations, logistics, e-commerce, free trade agreements, internal corporate compliance, internal investigations, and other cross border transactional and regulatory law. As counsel for multinational companies that conduct business around the world, Mr. Min has deep experience in advising clients with a practical and solution-focused approach even in difficult topics such as U.S. secondary sanctions and extraterritorial impact of U.S. export control laws. He also advises foreign investors, foreign and U.S. businesses in hi-tech and emerging technology sectors on CFIUS requirements, ICTS, outbound investment regulations as well as obtaining requisite licenses and approvals from U.S. trade authorities.
In addition, Mr. Min has led large national and international internal investigations for multinational companies dealing with sanctions, export controls, and customs violations as well as filing voluntary disclosures and mitigation petitions for clients to reduce potential fines with government agencies. Mr. Min has formulated and developed internal compliance programs for U.S. and foreign companies in the areas of customs, export controls, economic sanctions, and anti-bribery laws as well as managing external government monitors resulting from settlement agreements with U.S. government agencies.
He has also previously advised the U.S., Lebanese, Russian, Ukrainian and Moldovan governments on international trade law as well as at the WCO, the United Nations, EU Commission, BAFA, Saudi Arabia, China, UAE, Russia, Singapore, Morocco, and elsewhere on export control, customs and sanctions law matters.
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Advised non-US companies doing business in Iran, Russia, China, North Korea, Syria, Sudan, and Cuba on compliance with UN, U.S. and other sanctions and export control laws; obtained UN exemptions, OFAC and BIS licenses for clients operating in sanctioned countries and territories.
Advised US and non-US companies on navigating sanctions and export controls on Russia including delisting, licenses, and unblocking.
Settled alleged export control and sanctions violations for a multinational corporation resulting in a mitigation of over $300 million in fines; successfully closed federal criminal investigations into trade related violations.
Represented large non-US multinational companies and sanctioned persons before their major banking partners regarding sanctions issues.
Advised large Chinese ecommerce companies on U.S. extraterritorial sanctions and export control laws and compliance measures.
Conducted classification and obtained licenses for of dual-use export goods, software, technologies, and military goods.
Quickly obtained export licenses for anti-ballistic vests and helmets for news agencies deploying reporters to conflict zones.
Led national and international internal investigations for export control, sanctions, and customs violations resulting in voluntary disclosures to government agencies as well as developing remedial measures to improve internal corporate compliance.
Filed voluntary disclosures for multinational companies on potential violations of U.S. sanctions and export controls resulting in no fines or penalties for the clients.
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Petitioned and mitigated over $7 million in U.S. CBP fines and penalties for a carrier and customs broker.
Advised U.S. importers on compliance with forced labor prohibition provisions and represented clients on withhold release orders (WRO’s) whose imports were released.
Advised U.S. manufacturers on utilizing the Trade Agreement Act (TAA) exemption under the Buy America Act for U.S. Government procurement and other Free Trade Agreements compliance.
Advised and represented importers on FDA and FWS registrations and import regulations.
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Advised multiple foreign investors and U.S. businesses in artificial intelligence, life sciences, semiconductors, software, autonomous vehicles, telecom, and other hi-tech sectors on CFIUS, ICTS and other legal requirements.
Successfully defended a foreign invested robotics company and venture capital funds in non-notification investigations by CFIUS.
Advised U.S. businesses procuring goods from Chinese telecom companies on ICTS and Entity List restrictions.
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Developed and advised a news aggregator software app company on cross border data privacy issues.
Advised a Beijing based software company on U.S. export controls and compliance measures related to sensitive personal data and privacy.
Advised a NYSE listed U.S. retailer expanding into the UK and EU markets on various regulatory requirements.
Advised and represented large public U.S. companies on regulatory issues in their expansion in the Asia and Europe markets.
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Obtained FMC NVOCC or OTI licenses for freight forwarders and advised on Shipping Act compliance.
Assisted in registration of foreign NVOCC with the Chinese Ministry of Transport.
Advised eCommerce companies on the INFORM ACT.
Structured distribution centers and supply chain compliance in the U.S., Asia, Europe and the UK for U.S. retail companies.
Advised ecommerce and logistics companies on Section 321 compliance, IOR and ultimate consignee requirements.
Advised on and structured routed export transactions for logistics companies.
Obtained regulatory approval for express consignment hubs in the U.S. and in China.
Publications
Lifting/Relaxing U.S. Sanctions – Prospects Based on Past Experience, American Chamber of Commerce in Russia Special Webinar on Sanctions, March 10, 2025.
5th Circuit Overturns OFAC’s Tornado Cash Sanctions, Law.com, December 23, 2024.
Integrating Export Control Compliance Into Supply Chain Security, Export Control Exchange, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and NPAC (Nonproliferation and Arms Control), September 17, 2024.
Right To An Attorney: Understanding U.S., EU and UK Sanctions on Legal Services to Russian Persons, Webinar by Kucher Kuleshov Maximenko & Partners (KKMP), July 31, 2024.
Managing U.S. Secondary Sanctions Risks, Qazaq Independent Directors and the Kazakh Association of Compliance and Business Ethics, Almaty, Kazakhstan, June 27, 2024.
Practical Steps For Navigating New Sanctions On Russia, Expert Analysis, LAW360, March 6, 2024.
“Navigating OFAC/BIS Licensing and Sanctions,” Charity & Security Network, November 2023.
“Impact of U.S. Sanctions on Russia for Chinese Companies,” Beijing Dacheng Law Offices, Beijing, China, September 2023.
“Export Controls on China,” Panelist, Association of American Exporters and Importers Annual Conference, Washington DC, June 2023.
“Forced Labor – You’re Only As Strong As Your Weakest Link”, Panelist, Trade Summit of the Americas 2022, Miami Port, February 24, 2022.
“Anti-corruption Compliance Trends In The US, UK, And Hong Kong”, Panelist, International Bar Association, January 12, 2022.
“What Can We Learn From Huawei’s Legal Saga Involving HSBC? Lessons For Multinational Companies and Banks”, Lexology.com, October 27, 2021.
Moderator, “Trends in Export Controls,” AAEI 100th Anniversary Conference, June 30, 2021.
Managing National Security Risks for University Researchers + Their Start-ups, Webinar, April 2021.
Huawei, WeChat and Tiktok: Trade War or Unfair Competition?, Inhouse Community Magazine, February 2021.
De-risking In Light of U.S. Secondary Sanctions, Compliance Forum, Mongolian Bankers Association, Ulaanbaatar, November 2019.
Tariffs: The New Normal, 23rd Annual Corporate Counsel Institute, Georgetown Law Center, March 2019.
Free Trade Agreements & Innovation, The New Engine of Growth: Investment and Technology Conference, ABA Section on International Law, Seoul, Korea, October 2018.
How to Tailor Sanctions Compliance Programs for Asian Companies, 4th Asia Pacific Economic Sanctions Conference, ACI, Singapore, October 2018.
Russia Sanctions, ACI Hong Kong Summit on Economic Sanctions, Hong Kong, May 2018.
Intro to International Trade Law, China University of Politics and Law, Summer Session, Beijing, July 2017.
Internal Corporate Compliance Programs for Sanctions and Export Control, 3rd Conference on Transits and Transshipments as Export Control Risks, Marrakesh, Morocco, March 2017.
Security and Trade Facilitation, International Practitioner’s Guide: Customs Processes and Procedures, American Bar Association, July 2009 & August 2016.
Areas of Focus
Export Controls
Economic Sanctions
CFIUS & National Security
Customs & Imports
Logistics & E-Commerce
Education
The American University, Washington College of Law & The School of International Service
J.D./M.A.I.A.
Seoul National University
Certificate
The Johns Hopkins University
B.A., International Relations
Moscow State Linguistics University
Certificate
Previous Experience
LimNexus LLP, Co-Managing Partner & Chair of International Trade Practice Group
DHL Group, Vice President and Chair, Trade Law Practice Group
FedEx Express, Senior Attorney, Legal Department
Grunfeld Desiderio Lebowitz Silverman & Klestadt LLP, Associate
USCS Headquarters, U.S. Treasury and U.S. Homeland Security, Attorney Advisor
U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of the General Counsel, Attorney Advisor
Admissions
District of Columbia
Supreme Court of the United States
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
U.S. Court of International Trade
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Languages
English
Korean
Russian
Memberships
U.S.-China Business Council, Member
AmCham Russia, Member
Washington Export Council, Member
National Council on International Trade Development (NCITD), Member
Association of American Exporters & Importers (AAEI), Member
The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA), Former Board Member
Greater Cincinnati Foreign Trade Zone, Inc. (FTZ Zones 46 and 47), Former Board Member
Global Resource Services, Inc., Chairman Emeritus
U.S. National Committee on North Korea, Member & Legal Advisor
The Center for International Trade & Security, Non-Resident Fellow