RILA Gets Senior Director of Customs, Industry Compliance

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) has hired David Jackson as its senior director of customs and industry compliance. Reporting to RILA EVP and General Counsel Deborah White, Jackson formally joined the Arlington, Va.-based trade organization on Sept. 17.

An international trade attorney with wide experience representing companies on import, export and foreign trade zone issues, Jackson supports RILA members in customs matters as well as broader regulatory compliance.

“David’s skills and background make him uniquely suited to help RILA members address the complex regulatory and compliance challenges they face,” said White.

Jackson’s trade practice encompasses such issues as HTSUS tariff classification, valuation, country of origin, and preferential trade program applicability. He has counseled, trained and assisted clients in dealing with a range of customs inquiries, among them prior disclosures, protests and responses to CBP Form 28 Requests for Information. He has worked at law firms, private companies and for the federal government.

His background also includes food and agricultural regulatory issues, and he has worked with food importers to comply with import and food regulations. Before attending law school, Jackson worked in the technology arena for more than a decade, managing terms-of-service (Internet abuse) compliance issues for Internet companies.

Jackson has bar memberships in Missouri and with the Court of International Trade.