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.