International Trade affects virtually all transactions of a global marketplace. Laws and regulations change every day, which may help or harm your operations worldwide. Our International Trade practice has professionals with extensive experience in the area, including former guest lawyer at the Brazilian Mission before the World Trade Organization (Switzerland) and at the General Coordination of Dispute Resolution at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil. Souto Correa’s International Trade practice advises clients with regard to trade and investment agreements, trade remedies, WTO dispute settlement and related litigation, in addition to advocacy initiatives to the benefit of certain economic sectors, compliance, customs, and tax matters associated with international trade as a whole.

Our expertise includes:

• Draft and revision of submissions to WTO high-profile cases involving Brazil as a party and/or a third party;
• Support to Brazilian delegations at WTO hearings related to cases involving Brazil and interactions with foreign delegations and embassies;
• Close cooperation with the Brazilian diplomatic corps in Brasília and Geneva on WTO disputes;
• Advice to Brazilian diplomatic corps on Brazilian telecom regulatory aspects;
• Advice to foreign clients on administrative trade investigations before the Brazilian Ministry of Trade Defense (former MDIC);
• Advice on public consultations held by Brazilian Board of International Trade’s (CAMEX) on potential retaliation measures against certain countries;
• Monitoring and advice on legislative developments and discussions involving public consultations held by CAMEX;
• Assistance to and representation of trade associations and companies in international forums hosted by foreign authorities;
• Advice in the structuring of international business taking into consideration bilateral, regional and multilateral investment agreements;
• Assistance to companies in high-profile international commercial arbitrations, investment arbitrations in connection with the WTO dispute settlement understanding    
• Implementation of codes of best practices and monitoring measures in connection with FCPA compliance in the context of international trade;
• Identification of corruption risks in cross-border trade and implementation of appropriate internal controls and compliance measures to fix potential red flags;
• Risk analysis on a constant basis and update of internal policies with appropriate training to employees and executives to raise awareness of risks associated with corruption in connection international trade;
• Establishment of quality measurement procedures and internal customs policies to mitigate risks associated with potential illegal activities in connection with international trade;
• Interactions with advocacy groups, policymakers, and governmental entities in connection with international trade affairs;
• Assessment of potential commercial barriers and/or unfair trade effects derived from rules, regulations, environmental protection, and phytosanitary measures against companies and/or countries;
• Legal assistance in connection with customs laws and procedures, working with taxation on foreign trade transactions, tax classifications, special customs procedures, customs clearances, and registrations with SISCOMEX;
• Client representation in cases related to customs law in administrative proceedings before public authorities, as well as representation at all levels of judicial and administrative litigation;
• Advice and counseling in connection with trade remedies, including anti-dumping, anti-subsidy, and safeguarding measures;
• Legal assistance in connection with Brazilian Ex-tariff requests (i.e., request for reduction or exemption of Import Tax on capital goods and/or on computer and telecommunications goods that are generally not manufactured in Brazil).