Nathaniel Bolin

Practice Areas

Nate Bolin is the leader of the firm’s International Trade, Investment Controls, and National Security practice group. For more than 20 years, Nate has advised and represented US and global clients on export controls, economic sanctions, trade remedies, customs and tariffs, and related areas of national security and international trade laws. Nate has extensive experience with the trade and national security laws and policies governing advanced and emerging technologies in the aerospace, advanced materials, chemicals, defense, medical, oil and gas, semiconductor, telecommunications, and transportation industries. He also regularly helps clients successfully navigate the complex CFIUS process and national security issues involving investments and cross-border transactions.

Due to his extensive experience with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Nate has been appointed by the Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs to serve on the US State Department’s Defense Trade Advisory Group for five consecutive terms, most recently for the 2024-2026 session. He also advises companies on compliance with export control laws governing commercial, dual-use, and nuclear technologies, and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions.

In the area of customs and trade regulation, Nate has successfully litigated and resolved more than 100 cases and appellate proceedings involving United States antidumping and countervailing duty laws, Section 232 and 301 tariffs, and customs law matters before US Customs and Border Protection, the US Department of Commerce, US International Trade Commission, Court of International Trade, and Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

His experience in the above areas includes counseling and representing clients in matters concerning:

Licensing, compliance assessments and monitoring, and voluntary disclosures under the Arms Export Control Act and ITAR for companies and investors in aerospace, defense, semiconductor, electronics, and advanced materials industries.

The US export controls and related regulations governing the use of encryption and artificial intelligence technology and software.

Classification of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, semiconductor technology, and encryption technology and software under US export controls.

Licensing, compliance assessments and monitoring, and voluntary disclosures under the Export Control Reform Act of 2018, International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Export Administration Regulations, US Antiboycott Regulations, and OFAC and US State Department sanctions.

Mandatory declarations, voluntary notices, responses to notices of inquiry, and successful resolution of non-non-notified transactions under the CFIUS regulations and CFIUS enforcement and voluntary disclosure procedures.

Section 301 tariffs on imports from China and Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from various countries, including enforcement and successfully obtaining exclusions and exemptions from the tariffs.

Country of origin, classification, and valuation determinations, rulings, and related prior disclosures under the US customs laws and regulations.

Implementation and management of transfer pricing arrangements under US customs laws and regulations.

Rule of origin and dispute settlement under US trade agreements including the US-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA), US-Korea Free Trade Agreement, and US-Japan Trade Agreement.

Filing and successfully defending antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) petitions before the US Department of Commerce and US International Trade Commission.

Obtaining scope and anti-circumvention determinations for steel, aluminum, and chemical products under the US AD/CVD laws.

Detentions and notices of inquiry under US customs laws, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, and US sanctions on imports from Cuba, Russia, and Iran.

Representing companies and trade associations on trade and national security law and policy matters as a federal lobbyist before the US Senate, House of Representatives, and executive branch agencies.

Before entering private practice, Nate was an international trade specialist at the International Trade Administration of the US Commerce Department, where he worked on trade negotiations and trade agreements enforcement and compliance. During law school, he served as a law clerk to the US State Department’s Office of the Legal Advisor in the area of international claims and investment disputes.

Since 2009, Nate has been an adjunct professor at the George Washington University Law School. He teaches courses in international trade law and the US legal system and was a visiting scholar at the law school from 2012 to 2013. He has worked and studied in Japan and is fluent in Japanese.

Publications

“US Treasury Department Moves Closer to Implementing Outbound Investment Restrictions Through Latest Proposed Regulations,” The Global Trade Law Journal, November–December 2024

Co-Author, " Voluntary CFIUS Filings May Limit Uncertain Outcomes," Law360, 25 June 2021

Author, "Trade Update: Key trade challenges, opportunities facing the gear industry in 2021," GearSolutions, 15 April 2021

Author, "The top five challenges and opportunities facing the industry in 2021," Advance Textiles Source, 22 March 2021

Education