Johnny is an expert in international trade and Customs affairs, specializes in export controls, economic sanctions, import and export processes, and foreign direct investment strategies. He is the founder of QUESTOUD – a professional consulting brand that provides creative and effective compliance solutions for economic operators' international trade and investment efforts, such as trade control analysis and assessment, classification, valuation, rules of origin, import and export optimization, FDI due diligence, market access and entity setup, trade security and facilitation programs, and compliance management systems etc.
Johnny began his career with China Customs where he worked for 11 years. During his time, he was instrumental in forging cooperation agreements at international level including the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Customs Organization (WCO), and several United Nations entities. Johnny has a deep understanding of extensive Customs procedures and formalities. From HS classification to valuation and duty mitigation strategies, Johnny’s Customs expertise is a benefit to clients across multiple industries.
With respect to export controls and economic sanctions, Johnny is one of the earliest pioneers and the most experienced professionals in China. Johnny received his International Export Controls certificate from the Center for International Trade and Security (CITS) at the University of Georgia in 2006. The same year, he managed the first large-scale proliferation and prevention workshop for China Customs – the key export controls enforcement body in China, more than 200 Customs officers participated in the program.
With a solid understanding of multilateral export control regimes and country-specific insights including U.S., EU, China, Japan, Korea, and ASEAN countries, Johnny has been actively engaged for more than 16 years in helping regulatory bodies and trade communities develop and improve their trade and trade control policies, implementation and enforcement mechanisms, and compliance practices. Johnny regularly assists companies with their trade compliance strategic reviews, export control and sanctions audits, and internal controls program development. Both multi-national companies and domestic Chinese companies benefit from his services that are recognized as systematic, practical, and useful.
Johnny’s practice is not limited to the Chinese territory and he is a sought-after for his expertise throughout Asia and beyond. He has assisted developing countries like Malaysia, Cambodia and Mongolia to build their strategic control capacity. He is a frequent speaker on trade and export control-related topics, and regularly contributes articles and chapters to international export control publications.
As a certified sanction specialist, Johnny has an extensive knowledge of different sanction regimes including those of traditional sanction imposers such as UN, US, and EU, and the emerging players like Russia and China. Financial institutions and high-tech companies seek his expertise for sanction compliance assessment and calibration. In order to facilitate the development of professionalism in China, Johnny works with the Association of Certified Sanction Specialists (ACSS) to deliver sanction compliance training and certification courses in Chinese.
For MNCs, a major concern of doing business in China is how to protect their intellectual property. Johnny raises the public awareness about IP protection through publications and outreach programs and helps MNCs formulate and implement their China-specific IP protection strategies. Such as how to identify, classify, and register IPs in China. How to properly set the IP structure and utilize Customs IPR border protection measures to strengthen the protection etc.
Because IPs are usually related to royalty payments and controlled items that may trigger other regulatory compliance issues such as Customs valuation and export control, Johnny’s holistic approach has been proved valuable and innovative for IP protection practice.
From supply chain management’s point of view, Customs clearance is an important link in the chain. An international shipment needs to fulfill its Customs formalities at both the export side and the import side. It is not uncommon that due to insufficient Customs knowledge and compliance due diligence, a supply chain project with good wishes turned out to be infeasible because of certain Customs issues.
As an accredited trainer of World Customs Organization, Johnny has designed and delivered hundreds of training programs covering the full spectrum of Customs topics such as Customs risk management, HS convention and classification, preferential and non-preferential rules of origin, Customs valuation, Customs inspection and audit, AEO certification, special economic zones and Customs policies etc. Customs officers and trade practitioners from around the world benefit from his training sessions that combine quality contents with inspiring methodology.
The Green Customs Initiative, launched in 2004, is a partnership of international entities cooperating to prevent the illegal trade in environmentally sensitive commodities and substances and to facilitate their legal trade. Its objective is to enhance the capacity of Customs and other relevant border control officers to monitor and facilitate the legal trade and to detect and prevent illegal trade in environmentally sensitive commodities covered by relevant trade-related multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Environmental problems are transboundary in nature and have a global impact. They can be effectively addressed only through international cooperation and shared responsibility. Johnny would like to work with you to make our planet Earth a better place for everyone.