Edmund Cienava

Edmund J. Cienava is a seasoned customs and international trade attorney, business executive, licensed customs broker, and freight forwarder with more than 30 years of experience spanning all facets of global trade. His expertise encompasses customs and international trade law, customs controversies, strategic duty and tax optimization, trade agreements, duty and tax drawback, the administration of petroleum and petrochemical refineries and storage facilities within foreign-trade zones and bonded warehouse terminals, export licensing and controls as well as energy licensing. He is recognized for his deep specialization in the energy sector, advising oil and gas companies, commodity traders, and airlines on complex regulatory and operational matters.

Mr. Cienava is admitted to practice in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Florida, and before the Court of International Trade and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He has represented clients before U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Bureau of Census and Foreign Trade Zone’s Board, the Canadian Border Services Agency, and the National Energy Board of Canada.

He was Founder and President of Spectrum International LLC, a petroleum inspection, laboratory services and logistics company, performing measurement and testing of crude oil, petroleum and petrochemicals, and trade advisory services to the worldwide commodities market.

Concurrent with his legal career, Mr. Cienava held senior executive roles at Charter Brokerage LLC, including Executive Vice President, developing and overseeing its customs brokerage and freight forwarding division, and led the company’s international expansion into Canada.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Cienava worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers (formerly Coopers & Lybrand) in the International Tax and Trade group, advising multinational clients on customs and tax matters, and began his professional journey as a Customs Officer with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (formerly U.S. Customs Service).