Two from BCIC Address Free Trade Agreements for Japanese Businesses

Flora Sun and Chian Voen Wong from Bryan Cave International Consulting’s (BCIC) Shanghai office will speak on free trade agreements (FTAs) at seminars organized by the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Hamamatsu Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Nov. 19-21 in Japan.

Sun will discuss the effect of the ASEAN-China FTA and its impact on Japanese companies. Wong will address “meaningful operation” of ASEAN FTAs and what it holds for Japanese companies. Tatsuya Kanemitsu from BCIC’s Tokyo office will act as moderator for the panel discussions, which will involve the two BCIC directors as well as representatives from Japanese companies.

Two of the seminars are open to Japanese businesspeople in the Kasai area and in Hamamatsu, while one is a public seminar. About 100 participants, mostly export-oriented manufacturers, are expected for each seminar.

Sun heads the BCIC team in China. Her experience is in the areas of customs duties and other indirect taxes, foreign exchange and commodity inspection. She advises and supports clients in defending their positions with China Customs and other Chinese authorities, and in resolving disputes on matters such as customs valuation, classification, bonded processing trade and duty free equipment. She has extensive experience in assisting clients to review and structure their business models, supply chains and import-export processes in order to optimize duty and tax considerations and improve logistics efficiency.

Wong advises clients on WTO and FTA rules and application, as well as international trade issues such as trade, customs, export control and other regulatory requirements, and investment rules. She assists companies in rationalizing their manufacturing and supply chain strategies in order to capitalize on FTAs and WTO rules. Wong is a former senior trade negotiator with the Singapore government and had negotiated bilateral FTAs and worked at the WTO.

Kanemitsu is a specialist in export and import compliance matters, assisting clients to create and maintain import-export processes to ensure compliance with customs and other regulatory authorities. He is very familiar with Japan’s export control requirements and procedures, including Japan’s ECCN classification, licensing systems and catch-all control.