Summary

BLG’s International Trade Group offers clients representation and sound practical solutions to legal and strategic issues arising in all areas of international and internal trade. The Group offers services to governments, industries and businesses. We have extensive experience in multilateral, regional and domestic trade regulation from both governmental and private sector perspectives.

BLG offers you timely and effective representation driven by a multidisciplinary team of professionals. Drawing from experience and expertise in every aspect of domestic and international trade law, a number of our members are also knowledgeable in other aspects of the trade industry beyond legal issues.

BLG has the largest private sector WTO law practice outside of the United States and the European Union. Members of our Group have represented governments and private interests in Geneva in WTO proceedings, in NAFTA dispute settlement proceedings concerning Mexico, the United States and Canada, in dispute settlement proceedings under domestic trade agreements and in courts and tribunals throughout Canada. We have advised on numerous major international trade negotiations. We have provided advice and representation on all aspects of Canadian law applicable to trade in goods, including customs issues,  anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard measures, trade in services, trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights, government procurement, import/export restraints, trade sanctions, domestic internal measures and inter-provincial trade issues.

One member of BLG’s International Trade Group is former General Counsel at the Canadian International Trade Tribunal, Canada’s trade remedy agency. During that time, he represented the agency in trade remedy proceedings and in appeals under the Special Import Measures Act.

As one of the leading trade practices in Canada, our International Trade Group offers decades of experience in the delivery of exceptional service, helping to achieve our clients’ goals.

Publications & Presentations

  • Greg Tereposky, USA pork and beef?  Dolphin safe?  Low carbon? - Labeling Regulation and the International Trade Rules of the WTO, Presented at the IALL 31st Annual Course on International Law and Legal Information, Toronto, Canada, October 4, 2012.
  • Greg Tereposky, Establishing the Foundation for Key Issues in the TBT Agreement - Appellate Body Consideration of the Clove Cigarettes, Tuna and COOL Trio of Disputes, Presented at the Advisory Centre on WTO Law, Geneva, Switzerland, February 7, 2012.
  • Greg Tereposky (with Natalia Shpilkovskaya), Special case: Technical Barriers to Trade, Presented at the session Legal Framework of the WTO: Now with Russia at the Saint Petersburg International Legal Forum, Saint Petersburg, Russia, May 17, 2012.
  • Greg Tereposky, Interaction between Investment Arbitration and WTO, Presented at the Second Advanced Thematic Course on WTO Dispute Settlement, Geneva, Switzerland, December 7, 2011.
  • Greg Tereposky & Morgan McGuire, Utilizing WTO Law in Investor-State Arbitration, Presented at the Fifth Annual Fordham Law Conference on International Arbitration and Mediation, New York, USA, June 15, 2010.
  • Greg Tereposky & Natalia Shpilkovskaya, “Какую цель вы хотите достичь техническим регламентом?” [On Objectives of Technical Regulations] (Geneva, Switzerland: “Mosty”, ICTSD, 2012).
  • Natalia Shpilkovskaya,УчастиеновыхчленоворганизациивмеханизмеразрешенияспоровВТО[On Participation of New WTO Members in the WTO Dispute Settlement], (Geneva, Switzerland: “Mosty”, ICTSD, 2011).
  • Jeffrey Thomas (with Robert Paterson and Martine Band), International Trade & Investment Law in Canada, Carswell, 1994.
  • Jeffrey Thomas (with Michael Meyer), The New Rules of Global Trade:  A Guide to the World Trade Organization, Carswell, 1997.
  • Jeffrey Thomas, Making the Most of Cross-Border Government Procurement: Ensuring Compliance with Trade Agreements, external CLE presentation, June, 2012.
  • Jeffrey Thomas, Government Procurement and Domestic Trade Agreements: What Might Be Coming, external CLE Presentation, June, 2012.
  • Gerry Stobo, “Canadian Dumping and Subsidy Legislation Redux: Changes to the Way the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Conducts Dumping and Subsidy Cases,” 2000 International Trade Law and Regulation.
  • Gerry Stobo, “Canadian Government Procurement Law,” International Trade and Investment Law in Canada, Thomson Carswell, April 2003.
  • Gerry Stobo, “The Canadian Public Procurement Regime,” International Public Procurement: A Guide to Best Practice, London: Globe Law and Business Publishing, 2010.
  • Gerry Stobo,“Canada-United States Agreement on Government Procurement: A Canadian Perspective,” The Procurement Lawyer, American Bar Association, Vol. 45, No. 4, Summer 2010.
  • Cameron Mowatt,“Investor-state arbitration under new investment agreement with China,” International Law Office, December 6, 2012.
  • Cameron Mowatt, “Remedies Under Canada’s Foreign Investment Protection Agreements with Latin American States,” Dispute Resolution Newsletter, Fall 2011
  • Cameron Mowatt,“Un nuevo modelo de defensa para los países en vías de desarrollo contra las reclamaciones originadas en tratados de inversión (A new model for the defence of investment treaty claims by developing countries)” Revista Internacional de Arbitraje, Bogota, Columbia, ISSN 1974-4252; Enero - Junio 2010 (12), page 43.

Rankings & Recognition

The International Trade Group and its members are recognized in: 

  • The 2013 edition of Chambers Global – The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business.
  • The Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada.
  • The Best Lawyers in Canada® 2013.
  • The 2012 Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory.
  • Who’s Who Legal: The International Who’s Who of Trade & Customs Lawyers.

Representative Work

  • Counsel or advisor in over 30 WTO disputes. Recently appeared as counsel before the Appellate Body in US - Clove Cigarettes, US - Tuna II (Mexico) and US – COOL.
  • Counsel or advisor in numerous disputes under regional trade agreements, in particular: Lobsters; UHT Milk; Tariffs on Certain U.S. - Origin Agricultural Products; Flat Coated Steel, Cut-to-Length Plate, Broom Corn Brooms; Cross-Border Trucking Services; Sugar; Gypsum Board; Beer; and Durum Wheat.
  • Provided frequent written opinions on a broad range of issues under international and domestic trade agreements, including the WTO Agreements, the NAFTA and numerous other bilateral trade agreements.
  • Advised on the design, implementation, assessment and defence of domestic measures as well as the assessment and challenge of foreign measures under international and domestic trade law.
  • Provided legal and negotiation advice to the Government of Mexico on the NAFTA negotiations, including the negotiation of the environment and labour side agreements and related rules of procedure.
  • Advised other clients on negotiation, implementation and/or compliance issues related to numerous other international trade agreements, including: Canada – Chile; Canada – Israel; Canada – Costa Rica; Canada – Peru; Canada – European Free Trade Association; Canada – Colombia; Canada – Jordan; Canada – Panama; Canada – Central America; Canada – CARICOM; Canada – Dominican Republic; Canada – Ukraine; Canada – Morocco, and Canada - Panama, as well as ongoing negotiations between Canada and the EU, Canada and India, Canada and Japan, the Trans-Pacific Partnership and negotiations within the WTO.
  • Advised clients on negotiation, implementation and/or compliance issues related to domestic internal trade agreements, including the Agreement on Internal Trade, the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement and the New West Partnership Trade Agreement.
  • Represented private commercial interests before all regulatory and adjudicative bodies involved with international trade and government procurement matters in Canada, including the CITT, CBSA, the Canadian Federal Courts, the Supreme Court of Canada and Bi-national panels established under Chapters 18 and 19 of the FTA and 19 and 20 of NAFTA.
  • Advised on all aspects of Canadian domestic law applicable to trade in services and goods, including customs issues under the Customs Act and Customs Tariff, anti-dumping and countervailing duties and safeguard actions under the SIMA, import/export restraints and permits and trade sanctions under the Export and Import Permits Act, the Special Economic Measures Act, the Foreign Extra-territorial Measures Act, the United Nations Act, and inter-provincial trade disputes under the Agreement on Internal Trade and the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement.
  • Counsel for domestic industry and exporter/importer clients in numerous Canadian anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations.