With extensive experience in International Trade and Customs Law, our expertise encompasses a broad array of practices, including planning and structuring foreign trade transactions, providing advisory services and counsel on litigation involving international trade agreements, customs law and trade remedies, assisting Brazilian companies in growing their footprint in international trade.
Combining our depth of knowledge and capability to pursue effective legal solutions, we assist our clients in coping with and tailoring solutions to a variety of challenges in the context of international trade.
Our International Trade and Customs professionals have solid academic background and international experience, including before the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other national and international organizations involved with international trade, to advise companies and trade associations on a wide spectrum of issues, such as:
- Customs systems (importation and exportation)
- Preferential treatment under international agreements (Mercosur, LAIA and others)
- Taxation and tax benefits in foreign trade
- Customs penalties
- Trade facilitation
- Customs valuation
- Tax classification
- Rules of origin
- Ex-tariff system
- Non-tariff barriers
- Sanitary and phytosanitary measures
- Technical barriers to trade
- Services trade
- Assessment of the compatibility of foreign trade measures and barriers with WTO rules
We are actively involved in trade remedies proceedings in Brazil. With a strong presence before the competent authorities since the early 1990’s, the firm has acted in the most significant antidumping, subsidy and safeguard investigations.
Our practice on trade remedies proceedings covers:
- Domestic industry: advising clients on the feasibility of antidumping, subsidy or safeguard investigations; preparing petitions for initiation of investigations; advising and representing clients in their answer to questionnaires prepared by the Undersecretariat for Trade Defense and Public Interest (SDCOM) of the Ministry of Economy; handling investigations up until the imposition of antidumping duties; representing clients before all the Ministries composing the Foreign Trade Chamber (Camex)
- Exporters: advising and representing clients in their answer to questionnaires prepared by SDCOM and in their defense arguments during the investigation (dumping and injury defenses); representing clients before Camex Ministries
- Importers and other interested parties affected by a possible measure: advising and representing clients in their answer to questionnaires prepared by SDCOM and in their defense arguments during the investigation; representing clients before Camex Ministries
- Public interest: representing clients before SDCOM and Camex Ministries in all stages of the public interest evaluation, from answer to SDCOM questionnaires, attendance at hearings with SDCOM and other interested parties, and meetings with Camex Ministries (regarding potential suspension of the antidumping measure)
Our firm is also active in the defense of Brazilian associations and companies in trade remedies investigations conducted by foreign authorities (such as Argentina, United States of America, European Union, China, among others) in partnership with foreign law firms and governmental authorities, providing legal and strategic counsel for defense of the domestic industry. We work closely with major foreign law firms, specifically in those cases calling for multijurisdictional action.