James Durling

Mr. Durling is a partner in the International Trade group. He focuses his practice on international trade law and cross-border investment issues.

Mr. Durling defends foreign governments and companies in antidumping, countervailing duty, and other trade-remedy investigations. He also advises on parties' obligations under World Trade Organization agreements, and has significant experience litigating WTO disputes and other trade policy disputes.

Beyond his work on disputes, Mr. Durling also handles a wide range of issues where other regulatory laws affect international trade. He advises clients on the Exon-Florio provisions and related filings before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

He has significant experience in customs law, including valuation, classification, and customs audits. He has also worked on transfer pricing issues, and the intersection of transfer pricing rules and other regulatory rules on pricing. Mr. Durling has also developed a focus on the intersection of trade law and antitrust laws, including the anticompetitive consequences of trade law remedies. He has also worked on issues involving the international regulation of intellectual property, and the intersection of rules on intellectual property, antitrust, and international trade.

His practice also involves representing Asian companies, particularly Chinese, Japanese, and Korean clients. He has also worked with clients in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, and the Philippines. He has worked with clients on a wide range of high-profile trade policy disputes, including the trade policy battles over automobiles, semiconductors, and color film, and has been actively involved in the related WTO proceedings arising out of these trade policy battles. His recent major matters include the defense of several antidumping cases against China and Indonesia, several WTO disputes both attacking and defending trade remedy measures, and U.S. court litigation that invalidated the use of the U.S. countervailing duty law against China.

Mr. Durling is ranked as a leading International Trade lawyer in Chambers USA and Chambers Global. He is described as a "high quality lawyer" and is noted for his "impressive client roster which has featured big-ticket names." Chambers Global 2017 reports client feedback that "More than any other lawyer I've worked with, he understands economics." Mr. Durling is also recommended for his work in International Trade by Legal 500 USA.