Global Trade & Regulation

In a globalized economy, it’s vital for expanding companies to understand fully the implications of regulatory roadblocks including customs requirements and for others to be prepared to take action in and defend themselves against international trade claims.

Our global regulatory and trade practice, coordinated by key counsel in the EU, the US, Asia and Latin America, brings both cross border and in-country expertise to a broad range of issues facing companies daily including:

Regional and National Regulatory Law: Including regulatory requirements for setting up business across a wide range of industries including licensing and anti-trust notification requirements, and in the EU in particular product manufacturing and import specifications and compliance.

Customs Law: Representation before customs authorities including on classification and anti-fraud matters as well as preventive advice to clients with regard to the customs treatment of their exports to the EC from a given jurisdiction in the stage of the feasibility plan of their investment projects. Also advice to governments and companies on EC and U.S. GSP issues (generalized system of preferences), on GSP and other preferential rules of origin and on cumulation of origin in the context of the GSP and EC bilateral agreements with third countries.

Trade Law: Advice on trade legislation of various countries in light of WTO standards, including to governments and companies on various WTO issues regarding WTO accession negotiations, GATT compensation negotiations pursuant to the enlargement of the EC, WTO compatibility of EC trade laws, WTO negotiation on the Anti-dumping Agreement and the Agreement on Subsidy and Countervailing Measures.

Trade Defense: Anti-dumping, anti-subsidy (countervailing duty) and safeguards investigations in numerous jurisdictions, including EC, the U.S., Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. We also provide proactive and preventive advice to clients in dealing with current proceedings and future risks of trade defense investigations, by training our clients’ staff in monitoring their exports and gaining a better understanding of how to prevent the risk of an investigation and/or how to best prepare in case of an investigation. This proactive approach has often resulted in our clients avoiding an investigation or achieving very positive results in an on-going proceeding.

Special Regulatory Service: And if you have on-going requirements in this area, we will provide you a full time regulatory counsel to look after any aspect of your business that needs on-going monitoring and special attention.