Overview
Ngosong Fonkem provides legal consultation to numerous domestic and foreign companies by facilitating market access for both the United States and international markets. With extensive experience managing U.S. customs tariff and duty matters, he provides support to companies for improving import and export compliance. This includes detailed assistance with import classification, duty mitigation, and interactions with Customs and Border Protection, Food and Drug Administration, and the United States Department of Agriculture, as well as guidance on export regulations such as OFAC, ITAR, and BIS/EAR.
Ngosong currently assists companies of all sizes with day-to-day compliance with U.S. trade laws and those of other nations, and related audits, investigations, and civil enforcement proceedings.
Ngosong frequently speaks on international trade-related business and legal issues and regularly makes presentations on these issues in the U.S. and abroad. He has authored numerous articles on trade-related topics in peer-reviewed law journals, business journals, and magazines and has co-authored a book on international trade and geopolitics titled, “Trade Crash: A Primer on Surviving and Thriving in Pandemics & Global Trade Disruption.”
Prior to his current practice, Ngosong was a law professor at the oldest private university in Malaysia and was an energy intelligence management consultant in Southeast Asia. As a law professor, he developed the ability to contextualize and understand policies driving the law, which assists him today in anticipating risks for his clients' businesses. He continues to teach courses on international trade and global business as an adjunct professor at St. Norbert College Schneider School of Business.
Ngosong's interest in becoming a lawyer stemmed from his love of travel and learning about new cultures, aiming to solve legal problems across multiple jurisdictions. He has an enthusiasm for embracing difficult challenges, which his clients appreciate when they are navigating unfamiliar legal territory. When not in the office, you can find Ngosong playing soccer or on a sailboat, a hobby sparked in his youth by reading stories of sailors, merchants, and explorers.
Experience
Customs Duty Reduction and Trade Cost Optimization
- Successfully secured significant reductions in United States customs duties for multiple companies, facilitating cost-effective importation of products from China, Thailand, Vietnam, India, and Mexico
Food-Based Businesses
- Assisted a Wisconsin-based beer and distillery company with the setup and operation of its production facility within a foreign trade zone
- Assisted a Seattle-based distillery company with all aspects of importation of alcohol from a production facility in Peru to its facility in Washington State
- Assisted a Wisconsin-based investment firm with all aspects of market entry greenfield investment related to setting up a palm oil refinery facility in Sierra Leone
- Assisted a Turkish-based food processing equipment manufacturer with its U.S. market entry initiatives
- Counseled a Chinese food company with compliance advice on the importation of condensed milk from Vietnam and Malaysia to the United States as part of U.S. Department of Commerce’s anti-dumping and countervailing duties proceedings
- Counseled several U.S.-based dairy companies on exports of dairy products from the United States to their country of sale
Transportation Industry
- Provided shipowners with business and legal counsel applicable to the setting up of ship operations and related engagements with P&I Clubs, classification societies, vessel management companies, ship agents, and flag states
- Regularly provided legal and business counsel to NVOCC and freight forwarders, complying with Federal Maritime Commission regulations
- Provided legal and business counsel to NVOCC and freight forwarders regarding their compliance with international code for the maritime transport of dangerous goods (IMDG Code), and its United States equivalent under the Federal Hazardous Materials Regulations
- Advised battery and automobile manufacturing companies regarding compliance with international regulations applicable to the shipment of batteries and battery powered equipment
- Drafted and negotiated various types of transportation agreements including bills of lading, international sale of goods and the Incoterms that govern them, charter party agreements, and other shipping contracts, including providing advice on application of COGSA and The Harter Act applicable to cargo agreements
- In the area of international trade sanctions and export controls, he has represented shipowners, charterers, and brokers in critically sensitive matters before the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Department of State
Membership & Involvement
With an esteemed service record across various sectors, Ngosong has made noteworthy contributions to industry and community through his numerous appointments and leadership roles.
- Board Member: Wisconsin District Export Council; appointment by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, January 2024
- USTR’s Industry Sector Technical Advisory Committee on Small, Minority, and Women-led Business; appointment bu the U.S. Secretary of Commerce & U.S. Trade Representative, 2022
- Diversity Chair: America Bar Association Custom Committee
- U.S. Representative: Turkish Businessman Industrialist Association (YATSIAD); appointment in 2019
- Steering Committee Member: The New North (Global)
- Board Member: East Town Association
- Executive Committee Member: Dairy Cares of Wisconsin; Kicking It With The Cows
- Past Chair: U.S. Trade Representative: Industry Trade Advisory Committee
- Past Chair: Wisconsin Bar Association, International Practice Section
- Past Board Member: Wisconsin Bar Association, Business Law Section
- Past Commissioner: Brown County Harbor Commission at the Port of Green Bay (2016-2018)
- Past Chair of Events: International Trade Club of Chicago
- Former Vice-Chair: Inter-Pacific Bar Association, International Section Committee
Resources & Insights
In the Media
Alerts
Speaking Engagements
Published Works
Blog Posts
Firm News
- Ngosong Fonkem Joins Amundsen Davis's Milwaukee Office
Ngosong Fonkem Joins Amundsen Davis's Milwaukee OfficeWe are happy to announce that Ngosong Fonkem has joined the Corporate & Securities Service Group as a partner in our Milwaukee office.
- Proper Tariff Classification Impact on Business: How to Avoid Misclassification
Proper Tariff Classification Impact on Business: How to Avoid MisclassificationCompanies that import products into the United States need to understand how to properly classify their products because misclassification can lead to severe financial penalties and increased business costs.
- USTR Announces Long-Awaited Section 301 Exclusion Process for Domestic Manufacturing Machinery
USTR Announces Long-Awaited Section 301 Exclusion Process for Domestic Manufacturing MachineryThe U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced 14 temporary exclusions for solar manufacturing equipment and a list of subheadings eligible for consideration of temporary exclusion under an exclusion process for certain machinery. USTR will open an electronic portal for exclusion requests on October 15, 2024, through March 31, 2025
- A Guide to U.S. Trade Remedies LawsA Guide to U.S. Trade Remedies Laws
Most trade experts agree that trade policy will once again define U.S. foreign policy regardless of the next administration. As a result, companies and their business partners need to stay abreast of actions likely to be used by the next administration and the compliance impact, if any, the enforcement actions may have on their businesses.
Education
Tulane Law School, LL.M Maritime, 2012
West Virginia University College of Law, J.D., MBA, 2011
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, B.S, B.A., 2008
Admissions
- Washington, D.C.
- Wisconsin
Languages
- French