Mr. Becker is the leader of the firm's International Trade Practice. His practice encompasses a broad range of legal subjects in the areas of international trade regulation and international law. He works with companies in a wide variety of industries, including semiconductors, aerospace, electronics, software, energy, and agriculture.

Mr. Becker is an authority on international trade agreements and public international law and has advised several foreign governments on a variety of issues relating to their treaties with the U.S. He has been involved in numerous international dispute settlement proceedings conducted under the rules of regional trade agreements, the World Trade Organization, and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes.

Mr. Becker also represents companies, industry associations, and foreign governments in antidumping and countervailing duty investigations before the International Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Commerce, as well as in other types of trade remedy proceedings such as safeguards, Section 301, and Section 332 investigations, and appeals to the Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Mr. Becker has extensive experience with customs law matters, including rules of origin, valuation, and tariff classification issues, government audits, and civil and criminal enforcement proceedings. He has assisted companies in establishing internal compliance programs and counsels clients on how they may best capitalize on the relief from customs duties provided under the various free trade agreements and other duty reduction programs, both in the U.S. and abroad. Mr. Becker also has been assisting clients in dealing with the latest initiatives of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, including the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism and the Importer Self-Assessment Program.

Mr. Becker regularly advises companies on export control restrictions and embargoes, including those imposed under the Export Administration Regulations, International Traffic in Arms Regulations, and Assets Control Regulations, and in matters relating to obtaining license approvals, establishing internal corporate compliance programs, and determining whether proposed transactions are permitted. He has defended companies in enforcement proceedings under those laws.

At Columbia University Law School, Mr. Becker was Notes and Comments Editor of the Columbia Law Review. He has been an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, where he taught a course on international trade agreements.

Mr. Becker was acknowledged as a leading International Trade lawyer in the fourth edition of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business for 2006-2007.

Education

J.D., Columbia University School of Law, 1982
Law Review

B.A., Yale University, 1979

Admissions

District of Columbia

U.S. Supreme Court, Court of International Trade, District of Columbia Court of Appeals, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, U.S. Court of Appeal for the District of Columbia, Federal, Seventh and Ninth Circuits

Affiliations

American Bar Association

Firm Publications

New Iranian Sanctions Block Assets and Prohibit Transactions with Major Iranian Financial Institutions, 30-Oct-2007

Export and Economic Sanctions Penalties Increase Again, 17-Oct-2007

New Tariff Schedules Being Implemented in February Will Impact Many Importers, 08-Jan-2007

International Trade Legislation Provides Opportunities for Cost-Savings, 22-Dec-2006

External Publications

How U.S. Export Controls and Embargoes Affect Associations, Association Management, July 2002