Joy Marie Virga*

Joy’s practice focuses on customs and import compliance and international trade, with a particular emphasis on customs valuation, special duty programs, and international affairs. 

Before joining ArentFox Schiff, Joy served as an attorney-advisor in the Office of Trade, Regulations, and Rulings at US Customs and Border Protection, where she routinely drafted decisions on customs valuation, tariff classification, country of origin, and eligibility of preferential tariff treatment of imports under various trade agreements and preference programs. Joy advised the Office of the United States Trade Representative on customs issues related to international trade agreement negotiations and provided counsel to the US House of Representatives and the US Senate on draft customs legislation. Additionally, she collaborated with counterparts from Canada and Mexico to update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Uniform Regulations to align with the United States-Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) Rules of Origin. She also represented the US at the World Customs Organization’s (WCO) Technical Committee on Rules of Origin, the Technical Committee on Customs Valuation, and the Forum of the Regional Community of Valuation Specialists of the Americas and Caribbean.

During her time there, she also accepted a temporary assignment as a trade advisor and international relations specialist within the Office of International Affairs, where she orchestrated engagements with foreign dignitaries and acted as a liaison between the Customs and Border Protection Attaché in El Salvador and Customs and Border Protection Headquarters to manage priority operations, including trade and travel facilitation and combating transnational organized crime. Additionally, Joy completed another temporary assignment as a trade advisor, identifying key areas for providing technical assistance to facilitate trade and promote economic development in Guatemala.

*Not admitted in DC. Admitted in NY only. Practicing under the supervision of DC Bar members.