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EU and international trade law

Eversheds Sutherland’s EU and international trade law team advises on a wide range of international trade and policy issues. Our lawyers work extensively in both the EU and US and are complemented by the on-the-ground experience of our global office network. We are active in a wide range of business sectors and have a deep understanding of their markets and business objectives.

These areas we work in include:

  • aerospace and defense
  • chemicals, oil and gas
  • commodities (hard and soft)
  • electronics
  • IT
  • industrial engineering
  • pharmaceuticals
  • semiconductors
  • steel
  • retail
  • technology and telecommunications

Whatever your needs, we are here to help you achieve your goals.

Experienced EU and international trade lawyers

At Eversheds Sutherland, we pride ourselves on providing practical and commercial advice in relation to trade law issues in a variety of areas. These include WTO law, export control and sanctions, tariff classification and customs regulation, anti-dumping and countervailing measures, as well as broader EU and US trade laws, including anti-bribery, anti-money laundering and anti-boycott laws. In the customs arena, we have crafted innovative solutions for a variety of companies and have extensive experience advising organizations on how to maximize the advantage of free-trade areas.

Our experience with anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws is wide-ranging and members of our team have played key roles in many of the most significant international trade disputes and proceedings. We have also helped to craft and monitor innovative settlements of such disputes.

Another aspect of our service is acting in regulatory reviews of foreign acquisitions and other investments. Our lawyers have handled major inbound and outbound transactions and have broad experience of reviews of foreign acquisitions of US firms by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). We have also assisted companies with respect to industrial security matters on acquisitions, including the design of innovative industrial security arrangements and organizational structures needed for foreign companies to invest in businesses. This area of our work includes sectors such as aerospace, defense intelligence and homeland security.

Trade negotiations post-Brexit

The precise implications for international trade of the UK referendum outcome are not yet known and will depend on the terms of any UK-EU trade agreement. There is a great deal of uncertainty as to what a post-Brexit UK will look like, with different sides of the debate continuing to offer different models for the UK to follow.

This uncertainty makes planning difficult and means that companies must keep abreast of the latest developments to inform their commercial decisions. However, there are aspects that you can begin to consider and plan for now, in order to protect your interests.

You should identify trading arrangements that are likely to be affected, review standard contract documentation and integrate Brexit risk identification and management into your operations. Key international trade law issues to consider include:

  • the different UK-EU relationship models that may be followed in the event of Brexit and the likely implications of each for trading relations
  • the consequences of “falling back” on the World Trade Organization model in the event that no UK-EU trade agreement is negotiated before Brexit
  • the potential impact of Brexit on export control and sanctions compliance, in particular trade of so-called “dual-use” goods
  • renegotiation rights or adjustment provisions to mitigate costs and management risks arising from regulatory divergence between the UK and the EU in the future, particularly where authorizations, customs formalities or licenses may change significantly on Brexit
  • review of pricing mechanisms that assume no tariffs, quotas or other trade barriers, or that are tailored to take account of particular savings or levels based on EU free movement of goods, services, people and capital
  • the impact of Brexit on the applicability of EU anti-dumping and countervailing duty measures in the UK and related risks to domestic industries
  • the impact of market disruption and currency fluctuations on the cost of contractual performance
  • an analysis of the ability to perform contractual obligations in the event of regulatory changes introduced post-Brexit
  • the post-Brexit evolution and terms of the trading relationship between the UK and other countries.
Following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the UK, EU and US have all responded by announcing significant sanctions in respect of Russia. We have also seen expanded sanctions in respect of Belarus. View the latest updates here >

Contact our international trade law team

If you would like any further information or need advice on international trade law, then please do not hesitate to contact our legal advisors.

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© Eversheds Sutherland 2023. All rights reserved. Eversheds Sutherland is a global provider of legal and other services operating through various separate and distinct legal entities.

Eversheds Sutherland is the name and brand under which the members of Eversheds Sutherland Limited (Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP and Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP) and their respective controlled, managed and affiliated firms and the members of Eversheds Sutherland (Europe) Limited (each an "Eversheds Sutherland Entity" and together the "Eversheds Sutherland Entities") provide legal or other services to clients around the world. Eversheds Sutherland Entities are constituted and regulated in accordance with relevant local regulatory and legal requirements and operate in accordance with their locally registered names. The use of the name Eversheds Sutherland, is for description purposes only and does not imply that the Eversheds Sutherland Entities are in a partnership or are part of a global LLP. The responsibility for the provision of services to the client is defined in the terms of engagement between the instructed firm and the client.