Southern Border Conference

     George R. Tuttle, III is an attorney with the San Francisco Bay Area law firm of Tuttle Law.

The firm’s practice centers on international trade regulation and customs law. Our practice is global and includes matters originating both in and outside the United States. 
His practice, for the past 38 plus years, with emphasis is on Customs, international trade regulation, and export compliance matters for importers, exporters, brokers and forwarders. He has a wide range of experience in customs matters, including customs duties, tariff classification, value, marking, and penalty cases involving such diverse products as electronics, textiles, and food products. He also works with companies on “other agency” compliance issues, such as TSCA, FDA and FCC, related to imported products. He assists importers, brokers, and exporters develop and implement trade compliance programs, participates in Customs’ Importer Self Assessment (ISA) program, C-TPAT, and prepares for Focused Assessments and audits by CBP and other governmental agencies.
Mr. Tuttle is a contributing author for the ABA/Section on International Law publication: U.S. Customs: A Practitioner’s Guide to Principles, Processes, and Procedures, 2nd Ed (2016), Chapter 2 (Clearing Customs: importation, entry, and liquidation) and Chapter 9 (Customs Audits); and the publication: United States Export Controls, 7th Ed., (Law Journal Press), Chapter 11, Foreign Trade Regulations and the Automated Export System (AES).
Mr. Tuttle has been speaker on Customs and Export matters for various trade and education groups, including PAEI, WIT-NC, AAEI, ICPA, NCBFFA and various West Coast Customs Brokers associations on numerous occasions.
Mr. Tuttle is currently co-chair of the Customs Committee for the ABA’s Section on International Law.

Additional information about Mr. Tuttle can be found at www.tuttlelaw.com .

     MATTHEW CUMMINS is a senior associate with Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., resident in the Houston office.

Mr. Cummins has extensive experience in pursuing administrative remedies for clients’ import-related issues with U.S. Customs and Border Protection at both the local port and headquarters levels, including with respect to tariff classification, country of origin, valuation, and trade preference program eligibility. He has represented clients before U.S. regulatory bodies, including defending against trade remedy evasion allegations; preparing and submitting prior disclosures, ruling requests, administrative protests, and penalty petitions; and seeking relief from antidumping, Section 301, and Section 232 duties.

Mr. Cummins also assists clients with U.S. export rules and regulations, including with respect to export controls under the Export Administration Regulations, export classification and licensing, third-party screening, economic sanctions, and matters concerning the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list. His work includes helping businesses develop import and export compliance programs and conduct external audits.

Mr. Cummins holds a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center and a B.A. from the University of Tennessee. He is a member of the state bar of Texas, is involved with local and national associations of U.S. customs brokers and freight forwarders, and is a member of the American Bar Association’s International Law Section and Customs Law Committee and the American Metals Supply Chain Institute.

     JAMES AMYX is a senior associate with Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., resident in the Houston office.

Mr. Amyx provides legal guidance to clients on a number of import-related matters, including tariff classification, valuation, country of origin and origin marking, requests for rulings and internal advice, and trade remedies. He also assists with compliance and enforcement issues, including developing and implementing import compliance procedures, submitting prior disclosures, and responding to CF-28s, CF-29s, and penalty and pre-penalty notices.

Mr. Amyx also advises clients on U.S. export control issues, including economic sanctions as well as restrictions maintained under the Export Administration Regulations and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.

Prior to joining ST&R Mr. Amyx served for more than a decade with a Houston-based firm, most recently as a senior associate. He holds a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center and a B.S. in economics from Texas A&M University. He is a member of the bar in Texas and an active member of the American Bar Association, the International Compliance Professionals Association, the Houston Customs Brokers & Freight Forwarders Association, and the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America.

Robert Stein is Vice President of Braumiller Consulting Group. He has over 36 years of experience in Customs brokerage, freight forwarding, and consulting. With a broad base of trade experience, Robert is an expert in import and export compliance, Foreign Trade Zones (FTZ) and bonded warehouses, duty drawback, HTS classification, Incoterms, and Free Trade Agreements.

He has helped businesses with duty and tariff mitigation strategies including FTZ feasibility studies, FTZ and bonded warehouse implementation, duty drawback, and tariff engineering strategies.
Robert is an active podcaster and regular speaker in the trade community, participating in many live and web-based events throughout the year.
He is a licensed Customs broker, Certified Customs Specialist, Certified Export Specialist, NAFTZ Operator and User Committee member, and an active participant in the NEI.