On March 30 – 31, 2017, Cleary Gottlieb hosted a conference on The Future of Trade Defence Instruments: Global Policy Trends and Legal Challenges. The event was jointly organized together with the University of Passau, the Europa-Institut Saarbrücken, the Institute of European and International Economic Law & the World Trade Institute – University of Berne.
The two-day program was delivered by a panel of distinguished speakers presenting on a range of current issues affecting trade defense instruments (“TDIs”) and in particular, anti-dumping. Participants comprised trade officials of various governments, business people, lawyers, academics, and students from across Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa.
Government perspectives on TDIs were presented by officials from the WTO and the European Commission. Jesse Kreier, Chief Legal Officer from the WTO Rules Division spoke on the WTO and TDIs in a changing global framework. Carolina Cumbo Nacheli from DG-Trade, European Commission, explained the status of the EU’s TDI Reform Agenda. Against the backdrop of the current controversy and uncertainty over China’s market economy status within the WTO trading system, Ms Nacheli’s presentation provided insight into the Commission’s new calculation methodology, which would apply across the board, but which is expected to be of particular relevance for investigations relating to exports from China.
Legal scholars and practitioners also weighed in on the evolving state of TDIs. Till Müller-Ibold from Cleary Gottlieb presented an examination of TDIs within the context of EU FTAs, and concluded with an analysis of implications for Brexit. The Brexit conundrum was developed further vis-à-vis potential trade and competition solutions, by Markus Gehring of CIGI/British Institute of International and Comparative Law. François-Charles Laprévote from Cleary Gottlieb spoke on the interaction between competition law concepts and anti-dumping, analysing the effects of anti-dumping measures on cartelization, mergers, and abuse of dominance.
The conference further highlighted intercontinental issues by delving into rumbling trade concerns in the US. Bruce Malashevich, a trade defense expert from Economic Consulting Services in Washington DC, provided an overview on the current US approach to trade defence measures.
The following links provide access to the conference program and presentations from Till Müller-Ibold and François-Charles Laprévote.
If you have any questions on this event, please contact Till Müller-Ibold (at TMuellerIbold@cgsh.com)