Meredith A. Rathbone

Associate

• mrathbone@steptoe.com
• vCard
• Washington Office

Meredith Rathbone is an attorney in the Washington office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP, where she is a member of the International Department.

International Trade
Export Controls and Economic Sanctions
Ms. Rathbone counsels clients on achieving their business goals while ensuring compliance with US export control and sanctions laws administered by the Departments of Commerce, State, and Treasury.  She has assisted clients in the manufacturing, banking, insurance, retail, and service industries, among others, in navigating the requirements of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and US sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations. Her experience in this area extends to assisting clients in resolving politically sensitive matters under the joint administration of various government agencies. Ms. Rathbone has assisted clients in conducting internal investigations, preparing and filing voluntary disclosures, drafting agreements that allow companies to provide non-US citizen employees with access to controlled technical information, undertaking product classification reviews and preparing submissions for official classification determinations, and obtaining and complying with government licenses for the manufacture and production of technical products outside of the United States. In addition, Ms. Rathbone has provided counseling on the money laundering and extraterritorial jurisdiction aspects of the USA Patriot Act and regularly monitors and advises clients on legislative and regulatory changes to US export control and economic sanctions laws.

Customs Compliance
Ms. Rathbone’s experience in the Customs compliance area includes assisting clients in responding to NAFTA verifications, as well as advising clients on tariff classifications. She provides advice to companies on making country-of-origin assessments and on compliance with both Customs and Federal Trade Commission country-of-origin marking regulations. Ms. Rathbone has advised clients on preparing voluntary disclosures of potential Customs violations, and assisted them in developing long-term Customs compliance strategies.

Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Litigation
Ms. Rathbone has assisted clients in litigating antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings before the US Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission. As part of a team of Steptoe attorneys, she assisted a client in overturning the issuance of a US antidumping duty order before a bi-national NAFTA appellate panel. She has also provided advice to clients on developing proactive strategies to avoid liability under international and domestic trade remedy laws.

Public International Law
Ms. Rathbone has experience advising companies on the political and commercial effects of regime change and government succession as provided by international contracts law, customary international law, and the laws of war. She is a published author in the field of foreign and international human rights law as it relates to employment discrimination and sexual harassment. Ms. Rathbone has also written on the prosecution of war crimes in international tribunals.

International Government Procurement
Ms. Rathbone has assisted companies in achieving their business goals by advising them on the eligibility of their multinationally designed and manufactured technology products for US military and civilian government procurement under the Buy American Act and the Trade Agreements Act. She has also counseled clients on compliance with regulations relating to foreign government procurement.

University Affiliations
Ms. Rathbone has been an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, teaching courses to both law students and undergraduates.  She has lived and studied in educational institutions of Finland, Russia, and Italy throughout the course of her educational career.

Select News & Events

• Federal Publications Seminar "ITAR Compliance and Audits" Huntsville, AL, April 28, 2010
• Steptoe Attorneys to Present Webcast on the Human Resources Function in Government Contractor Compliance, March 11, 2009

Selected Publications

• Basics of Conducting U.S. Export Control Compliance Audits
  March 2010, U.S. Export Control Regulations German Journal
• US Economic Sanctions - An Overview of Legal Requirements and Compliance Issues
  February 16, 2010
• Government Issues Interim Rules Implementing Buy American Provision of Stimulus Bill
  April 20, 2009
• International Law Advisory - Treasury Designates Shipping Companies and Vessels for Supporting the Proliferation of WMD
  January 15, 2009
• International Law Advisory - DDTC Increases ITAR Registration Fees
  September 25, 2008
• International Law Advisory - BIS Amends Export Administration Regulations Concerning the Entity List
  August 25, 2008
• Proceed With Caution! Companies Must Understand And Heed Enhanced Export Compliance Requirements In Dealings With China
  July 2007, International Government Contractor
• International Law Advisory - BIS Issues Proposed Rule Expanding Entity List Licensing Authorization
  June 11, 2007

More Publications »