Antonia I. Tzinova

Antonia I. Tzinova is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Washington, D.C., office. Ms. Tzinova practices in the areas of international trade, foreign direct investment and industrial security. She advises on defense and high-technology exports; U.S. trade embargoes and economic sanctions; and customs matters. She regularly represents clients before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and advises on measures to mitigate Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI) in cross border mergers and acquisitions of U.S. government and defense contractors. She counsels foreign investors on structuring investments in the defense, high-tech and critical infrastructure sectors of the U.S. economy.

Recent transactions include advising on a complex CFIUS mitigation measure in a foreign acquisition of an exterior envelope façades designer and manufacturer; and a CFIUS review of a sovereign wealth fund investment in a North American railroad depot services provider. She has also advised on measures to mitigate FOCI in portfolio investments by private equity firms in government contractors performing on classified contracts, as well as advising dozens of clients on whether and how to approach the CFIUS review issue.

Ms. Tzinova also has extensive experience in assisting technology exporters, government contractors and research universities in developing and implementing export compliance programs and conducting company-wide compliance training. Enhancing compliance under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations often includes conducting confidential internal investigations and submission of voluntary disclosures to mitigate potential export compliance violations. These are issues that come up during regular day-to-day business operations, or in the context of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) due diligence.

Ms. Tzinova also advises on inbound movement of goods in import matters, including classification, valuation, country of origin, and import licensing under the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and other U.S. trade regulations.

Ms. Tzinova is actively involved in pro bono and bar activities. She is engaged with the Bulgarian-American community in the wider Washington metro area, serving as pro bono counsel to the Bulgarian Educational and Cultural Center of Washington, D.C. She has also served on the Board of Governors, and since October 2017 as president of the Washington Foreign Law Society.

Ms. Tzinova's experience also includes interning at the Foreign Investment Advisory Service (FIAS), a joint facility of the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), where she worked on issues relating to foreign direct investment in the developing countries.

Prior to the practice of law, Ms. Tzinova was an administrator of professional economics training at the IMF Institute of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where she served as a liaison between leading economics lecturers and officials of the central banks and ministries of finance of IMF member states. During her time at the IMF, she was involved in developing internal guidelines for the use of training materials in compliance with U.S. and international copyright laws.