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WTO Law & Policy

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  • Key Contacts
  • Recent Recognition
  • Insights, News & Events
  • Download PDF
  • Recent Recognition
  • Insights, News & Events

Bennett Jones provides clients with unique advantages based on our expertise and experience in World Trade Organization (WTO) law and policy. Our WTO team includes Canada’s foremost leaders in the field.

  • We bring diverse perspectives to bear in advising governments, businesses and business associations on broad and complex WTO legal and policy issues.
  • We cut through the complexities and roadblocks to achieve results. Our experience includes advising leading global businesses on how to achieve their objectives through WTO negotiations.
  • Our unrivalled access to senior Canadian Government trade policy officials allows us to more readily secure Canadian Government support in pursuing client interests in WTO trade policy development or in WTO dispute settlement.

Bennett Jones’ deep expertise in WTO matters reflects decades of hands-on experience. Our team members have:

  • served as Canada’s Ambassador to the WTO representing Canada and Canadian business interests;
  • acted as a key participant in the Canadian delegation to the last two successful rounds of multilateral negotiations;
  • developed strategic solutions in trade negotiations to practical problems faced by Canadian business;
  • served as Canada’s lead government lawyer for WTO law and litigation;
  • worked for more than 10 years in senior positions in the WTO Secretariat; and
  • worked for more than 20 years in WTO dispute settlement, including as legal counsel, adjudicator, and advisor to adjudicators.

Our team has been involved in more than 70 WTO disputes covering every aspect of WTO law including trade in goods, services, financial services, food safety, technical standards, intellectual property, subsidies, anti-dumping, customs, state-owned enterprises, and security interests. These disputes involved a wide variety of industries including the auto and auto parts sector, seafood exports, and softwood lumber, to name just a few.

Unmatched WTO Insights

Ten years working inside the WTO in the senior positions of Director of the Legal Affairs Division and Director of the Appellate Body Secretariat is unmatched and allows us to provide clients with unique insight into every aspect of WTO dispute settlement, from panelist selection to panel procedures to advocacy strategy. The selection of our team members to serve as WTO adjudicators confirms their reputations as leading WTO experts.

We have trained senior officials of several governments in WTO law and dispute settlement procedures. We have also taught international trade law at universities in Canada and around the world, in Europe, Australia, China, India, Japan, and Africa. We are regularly invited to speak on WTO and international trade law and policy at international conferences in Canada and abroad, and we have published several articles on WTO law and dispute settlement.

Canada’s Trading Advantage

Canada is a major player in global trade and investment and is an active member of the WTO. It maintains free trade or foreign investment agreements with 70 countries with a combined GDP of $52.7 trillion—61 percent of the world's total GDP. This uniquely positions Bennett Jones as a Canadian leader in WTO law and policy.

The Bennett Jones WTO team is backed by Canada's most comprehensive International Trade & Investment practice, and by experts in the various subjects governed by the WTO agreements. Our interconnected approach provides a strategic advantage to our clients, whose interests and businesses may be affected by one or more of the 20 WTO agreements.

Key Contacts

  • Valerie  Hughes Valerie Hughes, Senior Counsel
  • Darrel H. Pearson Darrel H. Pearson, Partner
  • John M. Weekes John M. Weekes, Senior Business Advisor
  • Related Lawyers

Recent Recognition

Chambers Canada
Ranked, International Trade/WTO

Insights, News & Events

Announcements

Bennett Jones Appointed to UK Government's Post-Brexit Trade Law Panel

January 26, 2021
       

Announcements

Valerie Hughes Selected as Arbitrator for WTO Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement

August 17, 2020
       

Blog

The Stakes Are High in Global Trade, and Canada Should Help

May 15, 2020
       

Articles

Valerie Hughes on Modernizing the World Trade Organization

April 20, 2020
       

Speaking Engagements

Moving Forward from the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Paralysis

April 20, 2020
       

Speaking Engagements

Valerie Hughes on The Impact of COVID-19 on International Trade

April 20, 2020
       

Blog

Trade Implications of COVID-19 from a Canadian Perspective

April 02, 2020
       

Articles

Approaches to Modernizing the Dispute Settlement Understanding

April 2020
       

Articles

Adjudicating International Trade Cases in the WTO Does Gender Make a Difference?

2020
       

In the News

John Weekes on the WTO's Stark Choice

December 26, 2019
       

Blog

What's Next for the WTO?

December 12, 2019
       

In the News

Valerie Hughes on E-Commerce and the WTO

May 27, 2019
       

Blog

The Business Council of Canada’s Task Force on Canada’s Economic Future and WTO Reform

February 14, 2019
       

Announcements

Valerie Hughes in The Globe Post on WTO Reform

November 30, 2018
       

In the News

Valerie Hughes on WTO Reform

November 05, 2018
       

In the News

John Weekes on the Creation of WTO and the Current Trade Debate

October 31, 2018
       

Blog

Updating the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism is Critical for Canadian Business

October 29, 2018
       

Articles

Canada: A Key Player in WTO Dispute Settlement

February 01, 2018
       

Articles

The Role of Legal Advisers in International Law

2017
       

Articles

Brexit and International Trade: One Year After the Referendum

June 02, 2016
       

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