Jon Cowley

Jon's practice focuses on advising clients on global trade matters, including customs and international trade compliance, tariff mitigation, supply chain structuring, and indirect tax planning.

Leveraging his reputation as a recognized professional in the field, Jon offers clients unique insight into the changing global trade environment. He assists clients in strategizing their supply chain diversification and investments, enhancing trade compliance programs, and navigating the volatile trade regulatory landscape.

Jon helps clients develop bespoke compliance programs and tools to de-risk and future-proof critical operations and supply chains from evolving trade restrictions. He also develops defense strategies to protect clients’ strategic positions, and he provides support in trade-related controversies and audits.

Jon has extensive experience advising C-suite leaders on complex and evolving regulatory landscapes, and he brings unparalleled, deep knowledge of US-China matters (he also speaks Mandarin and Cantonese and reads Chinese). He has significant experience assisting multinational companies find comprehensive solutions to customs, export control, supply chain, and cross-border regulatory challenges that account for differences between US and Chinese trade laws and practices.

• Provided primary legal support to a major technology company’s supply chain diversification and tariff mitigation efforts.
• Designed and implemented an anti-forced labor trade compliance program for a global technology company.
• Designed, developed, and deployed predictive analytical tools to monitor and respond to trade restriction risks for a large technology company.
• Advised a multinational consumer product company in a high-profile, widely publicized smuggling investigation in China.
• Assisted companies in customs audits and controversies in more than 20 jurisdictions.
• Supported numerous apparel, footwear and consumer product companies in establishing, expanding and defending first sale customs valuation programs in the United States.
• Counseled a major semiconductor company in a comprehensive customs audit in the United States.
• Advised various consumer product companies with global retail and supply chain planning.
• Advised major multinational companies with free trade agreement opportunity identification, qualification and defense in Asia-Pacific region.
• Conducted trade compliance reviews throughout the Asia-Pacific region for various companies in the semiconductor, information technology and apparel industries.
• Advised importers in preparing voluntary disclosures to government authorities, covering issues such as tariff classification, customs valuation, special trade programs and strategic commodity controls.
• Assisted companies in the technology, electronics, healthcare and banking industries on Strategic Commodity control licensing and enforcement matters in Hong Kong.

• Chambers and Partners, leading international trade/WTO lawyer among international firms operating in China, 2020

• Member, Chicago Bar Association
• Member, Illinois State Bar Association