Following the UK’s departure as a Member State from the EU on 31 January 2020, the UK is now considering pursuing Free Trade Agreements (“FTAs”) with the EU and the rest of the world. On 6 February, the Department for International Trade (“DIT”) outlined the UK Government’s proposed approach to the negotiation of FTAs with … Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills is proud to be a co-partner and gold sponsor of the London Conference on International Law, taking place on 3 and 4 October 2019. The conference will bring together members of the international law community to explore ‘What is the use of international law and how do we engage with it?’ over … Read more

On 29 June 2012, the European Union and the six partner countries in Central America – Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama – signed an Association Agreement (the EU-Central America Association Agreement) (the “Association Agreement“).  The purpose of this FTA was to develop trade and investment relations between parties. On 13 May … Read more

In a landmark decision concerning Ukraine’s complaint against Russia’s transit restrictions, a WTO Panel has ruled for the first time on the nature of the GATT national security exception. The Panel took the view that the invocation of the exception is justiciable and subject to scrutiny by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB). This is contrary to the position … Read more

On 30 April 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU“) confirmed that the mechanism for the settlement of disputes between investors and states set out in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada (“CETA“) was compatible with EU law. This confirms the Attorney General’s opinion discussed here. The … Read more

Key points The ministers responsible for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) of 11 countries have announced that the core elements of a Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership are agreed (CPTPP). While much of the original TPP looks to remain intact, 20 provisions of the TPP are suspended, in particular with respect to Investor–State Dispute … Read more

The US Trade Representative (USTR) is reportedly finalizing a proposal to dramatically restructure NAFTA’s investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism, transforming it into an “opt-in” regime under which each NAFTA state would elect whether or not to permit investors of other NAFTA parties to bring claims directly against it.[1] The proposal apparently remains under discussion within … Read more

On August 16, 2017, trade representatives of the United States, Mexico and Canada will convene in Washington, DC for the first of seven scheduled rounds of negotiations in relation to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The negotiations have been covered extensively in national and international media and, given the scope of the interests … Read more