Integrating our knowledge into your business

Regulatory, Competition & International Trade Law

In today’s globalized economy, international business is affected by multiple rules and procedures. Some of these legal requirements can be addressed by contractual terms and conditions, but many are based on regulations or policies that liberalize or restrict trade in goods or services such as preferential trade agreements, tariffs, customs controls or mandatory compliance with certain standards. Besides national governments and multilateral institutions such as the WTO, the EU is hereby a key player as the main source of trade-related legislation in Europe with exclusive competence over the customs union and trade policy.

As a result of the increase in international economic interdependence and global value chain integration, it has become important for both multinational companies and small or medium sized enterprises to prepare for risks or opportunities resulting from regulatory and trade developments. When so instructed, our EU Regulatory and Trade practice can help businesses with such preparation in a cost-effective way by providing the following services to ensure awareness of, anticipate, comply with and challenge relevant EU measures and policies:

• Monitoring and regular reporting;

• Advising on impact, substantive requirements and WTO-consistency;

• Advocacy with relevant policy makers, trade associations and authorities;

• Assistance with participation in EU procedures;

• Representation before the EU institutions, the EU Courts, and the WTO; and

• Assistance with anticipatory contract review and drafting of safeguard clauses.