Our Firm

Cerny Associates, P.C. is a specialized customs and international trade law firm. 

All companies -- from small, specialty importers to multinationals -- must comply with an increasingly complex, and sometimes contradictory, web of international and local legal requirements.  From purchasing and sales, to accounting and inventory control, almost every aspect of a company's operations is affected by the need to stay in compliance and control costs. 

Failure to meet applicable requirements can erode a company’s profits, impede its ability to meet its customers’ needs and even lead to penalties.  However, intelligently managed customs and trade compliance can become a business tool that can be used to add value to customers and drive new revenue and growth. 

For more than fifteen years, our attorneys have assisted companies in minimizing their cross-border transaction costs while navigating the layers of legal requirements that apply to internationally traded goods and materials. 

We also assist companies to assess the export requirements that may apply to their goods, as well as to negotiate third country import requirements using our global network of correspondent customs specialists.  Many of our clients have interests and activities throughout the world, and we are considerate of the impact that achieving a result in one country may have on importations into another. 

Our clients range from multinational Fortune 100 companies to smaller specialty importers and exporters, and include high-fashion apparel importers, global high tech companies, large industrial equipment manufacturers, food and household product importers, as well as major U.S. retailers. 

We pride ourselves on providing sophisticated legal analysis while implementing prompt, realistic and cost-effective business solutions tailored to the specific operational structure and customs/trade concerns of each of our clients.   Our advice is informed by our understanding of practical business considerations, including using limited resources to optimal advantage, maximizing savings and time efficiency when implementing compliance initiatives, and the importance of a response tailored to work within existing procedures and structures.  

We have many years of experience in customs, trade and related legal issues, including as partners in prominent New York and international law firms and as customhouse brokers. 

Because we are attorneys we are able to maintain the confidentiality of competitive business information based on the attorney-client privilege.

Our Services

• Tariff classification and duty reduction
• Admissibility, textile quotas, and tariff rate quotas
• Country of origin determination and marking
• Valuation and transfer pricing
• Preferential treatment under free trade and other agreements
• Deferred Duty Payment Using Foreign Trade Zones and Bonded Warehouses
• Quantification of and defense against customs fines, penalties and forfeitures
• Preparing for and working through customs audits, Focused Assessments, and taking advantage of the Importer Self Assessment (ISA) and similar Programs
• Successful participation in agency rule-making processes
• Meeting the enhanced security requirements for globally traded goods, including C-TPAT
• FTC, CPSC, FDA, USDA, OFAC, Fish & Wildlife, FCC, APHIS, and similar requirements affecting internationally traded goods
• Trademark protection for imported goods
• US export requirements and controls
• Third-country import requirements (using our global network of correspondent customs specialists) 
• Invoicing and Shipping Requirements
• Compliance Training
• Drawback qualification and compliance