Alexander Uskhopov

Alexander advises on all aspects of trade and customs law, regularly working with importers, exporters, licensed customs brokers, freight forwarders, marine insurers, Australian manufacturers, and other industry parties to provide them with procedural and legal advice, including reviews of decisions of various government agencies and litigious matters.

Alexander represents his clients’ best interests during inquiries or investigations by government agencies, in matters involving dumping and alleged underpayments of customs duty, breaches of licence conditions by service providers, biosecurity and defence control issues along with any associated litigation.

He frequently advises overseas clients based in North America, Europe and Asia on matters relating to import and export controls, sanctions, international trade conventions, free trade agreements, anti-dumping and countervailing duties and international trade disputes.

In addition to his legal expertise, Alexander also has experience working in various Federal Government positions, both at the Federal Parliament of Australia and in international trade remedies working at Australia’s Anti-Dumping Commission (ADC).

Significant experience

Alexander’s experience includes:

• Judicial and administrative review of the actions of various government agencies including the Department of Home Affairs, the Australian Border Force (ABF), the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the ADC.
• Advising multinational corporations operating across multiple jurisdictions on all aspects of Australian import and export controls, sanctions law, including due diligence, compliance, and risk assessment.
• Assisting importers in making claims under the Scheme for Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration by Commonwealth agencies.
• Representing clients in negotiations involving foreign governments and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, and the Arts in relation to foreign moveable cultural heritage imported to Australia.
• Acting for several Australian companies to review tariff classifications adopted by the ABF and the alleged incorrect use of concessional items leading to a reduction of duty payable and a refund of past duty paid.
• Representing overseas exporters of various products and their Australian importers in relation to investigations and other matters before the ADC.
• Successfully representing importers of goods in matters before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to establish that anti-dumping and countervailing duties did not apply to the goods they were importing.
• Representing importers of motor vehicles in applications to the AAT to challenge decisions of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts in respect of Model Report approvals and entry on the Specialist and Enthusiast Vehicles Register.
• Advising on restrictions on various biosecurity issues such the import of prawns and other pests such as the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug.
• Representing Australian companies in disputes with various government biosecurity agencies, at the Federal and State level.
• Successfully representing importers in the AAT to obtain drawback duty refunds.
• Representing licensed customs brokers and holders of customs depot and warehouse licences in disputes with the ABF, including in the AAT and before the National Customs Brokers Licensing Advisory Committee (NCBLAC).