Trade, WTO & Customs
Our International Trade, WTO and Customs practice offers solid experience across the full spectrum of cross-border trade regulation and policy.
Led by Edward Borovikov, the team has been involved at all levels of trade and customs affairs. It has assisted clients before national authorities, in anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard investigations before the European Commission and in third countries, in EU law- and policy-making, and in negotiating WTO and bilateral/regional trade agreements. When needed, the Brussels office supports clients with litigation before the EU Courts in Luxembourg and guides them in consultations and dispute settlement proceedings before the WTO Dispute Settlement Body.
The team is highly regarded and regularly ranked at the top tier of experts in Brussels in the areas of trade, WTO, anti-dumping and customs.
Chambers Global 2012 ranks the Brussels team in tier 4 and Edward in tier 1 individually in International Trade & WTO, both in Belgium and in the Europe-wide section. The editorial highlights, "he is particularly noted for his expertise in trade matters involving Russia and Eastern Europe. Sources say he brings 'a unique mix of legal, economic and diplomatic skills'." The Brussels team is also ranked in the EU Competition/European Law and Edward is recognised as a recommended expert by Chambers Global 2012.
Europe's Legal 500 also recognises Edward as one of the leading experts in the fields of customs, trade, WTO, and anti-dumping. According to International Who's Who Legal research, Edward Borovikov and Bogdan Evtimov have been selected by clients and peers among 257 leading Trade & Customs lawyers in the world. Edward Borovikov and Bogdan Evtimov are ranked within the top 10 international trade lawyers in Belgium and globally by Expert Guides, Legal Media Group Publication. Edward was also ranked as a leading international trade lawyer in The Best of the Best 2010.
The Brussels team is ranked in Tier 4 in the EU Competition market by IFLR1000 - The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms. According to IFLR1000 research, "The firm has been visible in many merger control cases and sectoral inquiries in the European Commission". Edward Borovikov and Bogdan Evtimov are recognised as leading competition lawyers in Belgium.
Anti-dumping Proceedings
Our team has represented major international companies in a long list of anti-dumping proceedings in the EU and other jurisdictions worldwide. We have substantial experience in direct representation in investigations, hearings, price undertaking negotiations, and all types of reviews. We regularly handle requests for refund and anti-circumvention proceedings, and prepare arguments for litigation in the EU Courts. We also assist clients before EU Member State authorities.
We work with clients on the strategic aspects, help monitor prices and analyse possibilities to reduce or terminate anti-dumping duties.
Anti-subsidy Proceedings
We advise private companies and governments in anti-subsidy investigations in the EU and worldwide. Our clients value our substantial experience in the analysis of elements constituting a subsidy, specificity, types of subsidies and investigative procedure, including government-to-government consultations.
We have considerable knowledge of the provisions of the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, in particular on prohibited export and import-substitution subsidies, and have in-depth insight into the relevant practice of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body. We have experience in counselling private companies and governments how to obtain/grant subsidies without incurring risks of WTO action or countervailing duties.
Safeguards
Our team has a distinguished record of representation in EU and third country safeguard investigations. Such investigations are intended to provide temporary protection to a complaining industry from surging imports from all third countries through imposition of additional tariffs. However, safeguards often have significant repercussions, triggering safeguard actions by other major countries around the world. By way of example, we have represented major steel-producing companies in the U.S. and EU safeguard investigations concerning various steel products, and in the more recent Indian safeguard investigation concerning hot-rolled steel products.
WTO and Regional Trade Agreements
We advise major internationally active companies and sovereign governments on their country's rights and obligations under the WTO and other international trade agreements. We have also assisted governments and private stakeholders in the context of consultations and dispute settlement proceedings before the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body, as well as in bilateral disputes.
Our assistance to clients includes direct contact with the EU institutions, EU Member State authorities, and third-country governments on legal issues concerning the WTO and regional trade agreements. We closely monitor developments in the context of the Doha Round of multilateral negotiations. We also assist clients on all matters concerning regional trade agreements, including the strategy for bilateral negotiations and preparation of negotiating positions on important issues. We advise clients on the likely impact of any new agreements on their establishments and sales organisations.
Trade Policy and Market Access
Trade policy involves thorough legal knowledge, understanding of economics, and a political insight. Our clients benefit from our ability to blend all of the above into the representation of their interests before trade policy institutions and in the early legislative process. In close cooperation with our clients, we draft positions supported by legal and economic arguments, inviting governments and international bodies to consider debatable issues over the full spectrum of trade policy, import and export legislation, customs policy, regulations affecting investments, etc.
Our team assists clients in devising market access strategies and advises on the use of various market access tools available in the EU and other relevant jurisdictions. In particular, we advise on the application of the EU Trade Barrier Regulation and various autonomous tariff policy measures, such as tariff suspensions.
We have represented clients before the European Commission and other jurisdictions in a wide variety of trade issues, and have also prepared strategies for them in the context of consequences from international trade disputes such as legislative amendments or retaliatory tariffs.
Customs
We regularly advise on tariff classification, origin, and valuation issues. We have experience in obtaining favourable tariff classification, binding origin information and valuation rulings from national authorities. We also directly represent clients before the EU and EU Member States' customs authorities. In addition, we advise and represent clients on tariff suspensions, tariff quotas and their allocation on the export and import side, as well as on customs procedures with economic impact, such as inward and outward processing.
Export Controls and Economic Sanctions
Our team has considerable experience in the EU rules governing export controls and economic sanctions. Matters handled by the team consist of guidance in specific transactions, the development of compliance programs and assistance in representations before the Member States’ authorities for potential past infractions. The items involved include electronic equipment, software, chemicals, biological agents, protective equipment and services. The team often collaborates closely with U.S. counsel to provide integrated EU and U.S. export controls and/or economic sanctions advice to global companies. Members of the team have also frequently lectured in this area, focusing on the importance of compliance and challenges in the enforcement of EU and U.S. controls and sanctions regimes.
Preferential Tariffs
The EU maintains certain autonomous preferential trade regimes, the most common of which is the Generalised System of Preferences benefiting a number of developing countries, countries in transition as well as CIS countries. The EU has also negotiated a number of bilateral and regional preferential trade agreements with some of its trading partner countries.
We advise clients on how they could benefit most from the available tariff preferences, and how to obtain binding tariff and origin information for greater certainty in their sales planning. We also have experience in protecting the interests of our clients in customs fraud investigations, such as where authorities suspect that the conditions for granting the preference have not been fulfilled.
Government Affairs
Our team also assists clients in defending their interests in the legislative and administrative decision-making processes of the European Union, its Member States, and internationally. Our work in this area focuses on complex legal and policy issues that are at the intersection of government affairs with other substantive areas, including international trade, competition, and regulatory law. It involves the development of detailed position documents and the implementation of comprehensive advocacy strategies targeting officials and decision-makers at working and political levels.