Advisors

John C. Ramig

John Ramig is the founder and President of Global Trade Advisors. Mr. Ramig is an experienced CEO who successfully established manufacturing facilities in Asia and product distribution throughout Western Europe.

John Ramig is a graduate of Harvard College, where he was a Harvard Scholar and received his A.B., magna cum laude, in 1980. He earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia in 1984, where he served on the editorial board of the Virginia Journal of Law and Politics. He has engaged in the private practice of law in Washington, DC and Portland, Oregon for over 20 years.

Prior to practicing law, Mr. Ramig served on the Washington, DC staff of U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield and on the White House staff in the Carter Administration's Office of Public Liaison. He also has served on the staff of Donald Anderson, a member of the British Parliament.

Mr. Ramig is licensed to practice law in Oregon. Mr. Ramig has expertise in international business transactions, including the structuring of international sourcing and manufacturing operations. He provides expert services relating to the design and implementation of international corporate structures that maximize operational and tax efficiencies. He also has expertise in intellectual property and trade secret protection, having successfully brought trade secrets litigation on behalf of his clients. He has broad experience with international distribution agreements and manufacturing agreements with Asian suppliers.

In addition to legal expertise, Mr. Ramig has gained a wealth of practical knowledge and a network of professional relationships through his involvement in establishing commercial relationships with manufacturing and trading companies in China, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. This expertise extends to supply chain management, including freight forwarding, customs and duty issues. Based on years of practical experience, Mr. Ramig offers specialized counsel for companies seeking to successfully operate in a multicultural business environment.

Slone K. Pearson

Slone Pearson is a trade consultant specializing in U.S. export and customs law. Her expertise encompasses the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), International Trade of Arms Regulations (ITAR), Custom's Regulations, Foreign Trade Statistic, Foreign Assets Treasury Control Regulations, US Harmonized Tariff Codes, US Schedule B Codes and import and export regulations within the jurisdiction of the US Fish & Wildlife, Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Drug Enforcement Agency, and Department of Agriculture. Ms. Pearson is an active presenter at conferences and participates in several international trade and compliance organizations.

Ms. Pearson consults to a wide spectrum of clients across every major industry segment. For her clients involved in export from the U.S., Ms. Pearson regularly conducts assessments of exporters' compliance controls, prepares customized corporate policy and procedure manuals, conducts training programs, prepares jurisdiction, classification and valuation analyses, and assists in preparing commodity jurisdiction requests, commodity classification requests, Department of Commerce and State license applications, voluntary self-disclosures and responses to official inquiries.

For her clients involved in import into the U.S., Ms. Pearson regularly conducts evaluations of importers' internal compliance controls, which typically identify potential cost savings and regulatory risks. She also provides consulting needs for her import clients including, HTS classification, assistance preparing Customs rulings and appealing unfavorable decisions, customs valuation and country of origin determination, eligibility for trade preference programs (e.g. NAFTA, etc.), duty preference programs (e.g. GSP, 9802, etc.), supply chain security (e.g. C-TPAT), marking, staff training and the development of internal policy and procedure manuals, other U.S. Government Agencies import registration, licensing and reporting requirements.

Ms. Pearson graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.S. in Biochemistry and earned her J.D. at Suffolk University Law School with a distinction in Intellectual Property. Ms. Pearson's background in the science and medical fields combined with her legal education give her a unique advantage when working with the complex products and technologies in these fields. Some of Ms. Pearson's current clients in the high technology fields include chemical, biological and electronic companies.

Dennis Lee Hopton

Dennis Hopton serves as the managing director of the Hong Kong office of Global Trade Advisors. His background includes many years of experience in the automotive and other manufacturing industries in Michigan. He studied business management at Anderson University (Indiana) in and marketing at Eastern Michigan University's Master of Science program in quality engineering. Dennis has broad experience in quality control procedures, CAD (computer aided design), marketing research, and project management. He is also an ASQ (American Society of Quality) Certified Quality Manager and ASQ Certified Quality Auditor.

From the Hong Kong office, Mr. Hopton is able to network and utilize resources available in the China / Southeast Asia region to the benefit of GTA's clients.

Patricia Syquia

Patricia Syquia is the lead project manager at Global Trade Advisors, specializing in product sourcing, quality assurance, regulatory compliance and supply chain/logistics management. In that capacity, she communicates daily with GTA's clients, their customers, and their factories and logistics providers on a wide range of product development, sourcing and marketing matters. Ms. Syquia has developed and organized extensive product sourcing databases to ensure efficient access to data on factories, product quotations, quality control standards, logistics options and client intellectual property.

Ms. Syquia has extensive experience working in a wide spectrum of manufacturing fields including agricultural production, indoor and outdoor apparel, HVAC components, construction materials, defense articles and children's toys. She has worked directly with factories, distributors and sales representatives domestically and internationally, including those located in Belgium, Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Spain, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand and the United Kingdom. In recognition of Ms. Syquia's experience and expertise, many GTA clients outsource management of their outsourcing projects entirely to her.

Ms. Syquia graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a B.A. in Classics and Asian-American Studies and earned her J.D. at Tulane University Law School with a certificate in Environmental Law. Ms. Syquia is licensed to practice law in Maryland.

Leo Chen

Leo Chen is the chief representative of Global Trade Advisors’ Shanghai office.

Mr. Chen is a graduate of Nanjing Institute of Technology, where he earned his bachelor's degree. Mr. Chen has a number of years of experience in manufacturing both in State owned and privately held companies. He was engaged as a technician in a State-owned company for nine years and with Panasonic Company as a manager of purchasing and sourcing for 13 years. He has also served as the vice president of Operations for Fortune Venture, an integrated product sourcing firm.

Mr. Chen has a wide range of contacts within different industrial facilities through the China. He also has a wealth of practical knowledge and experience in sourcing and management.

George Song

George Song is the lead engineer at Global Trade Advisors’ Shanghai office, specializing in product technical support and quality assurance.

Since his graduation from Huazhong University of Science & Technology (China) with an M.E. in Material Processing Engineering, Mr. Song has accumulated a keen understanding in plastic and metal processes. His expertise includes: Plastic Injection Molding, Blow Molding, Thermoforming, Extrusion, Rotational molding and Metal Stamping, Pressing, Welding, Machining, Die Casting, Sand Casting, Investment Casting and Aluminum Extrusion.

Mr. Song works closely with factory engineers to ensure on time production and quality.

Alla Wang

Alla Wang is a project manager at Global Trade Advisors’ Shanghai office, specializing in product sourcing and quality assurance of products. Her skills in daily communication with both factories and clients ensure prompt responses and enhanced efficiency.

Ms. Wang graduated from Tongji University with a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration. She has extensive experience working in manufacturing metal components, plastic pieces and fitness equipment all over China, the United States and Canada. She also has extensive logistics experience.

Bill Chen

Bill Chen is an assistant engineer in Global Trade Advisors’ Shanghai office. He has extensive experience working in product sourcing and quality control. Mr. Chen is involved with each step of the manufacturing process from getting the best factory quotations, to ensuring the quality of the material during production and providing overall management in the factory relationship.

Mr. Chen has worked in a variety of manufacturing fields as varied as Fitness Equipment to BBQ supplies. He has an extensive working knowledge of quality control issues to avoid problems in the manufacturing process.

Mr. Chen graduated from Hefei University of Technology in Precision Instrumentation with a Bachelor Degree in Engineering.

Van Vuong

Van Vuong serves as the managing director of the Ho Chi Minh City office of Global Trade Advisors. Mr. Vuong has over 10 years experience sourcing products in Vietnam and throughout Southeast Asia. In addition to sourcing products, Mr. Vuong has established and operated manufacturing facilities and has years of experience in quality control, supply chain management and logistics for clients including Costco, TJX Corporation, J.C. Penny and Guildmaster, Inc.

Mr. Vuong was raised in the United States and studied Business Management at the University of Maryland. As a result, he is familiar with western consumer tastes and business practices. He has over 20 years of management and financial experience.

From the Ho Chi Minh City office, Mr. Vuong utilizes resources available in the Southeast Asia region and his practical knowledge to network across multicultural business environments to the benefit of GTA’s clients.