International Trade Law

Customs law plays an ever increasing role in a globalised economy. We advise companies on all customs-related issues, including criminal aspects, from customs value to origin and classification and on procedural matters. We are active in advisory matters and can represent you in negotiations and disputes with customs authorities, ministries and the European Commission as well as in national and EU courts.

Anti-dumping duties can play a critical role for the market access of certain companies. We advise you on all aspects of your case and represent you before national ministries and authorities, the European Commission and the European Court of Justice. In the last years, we have represented clients from various sectors, including chemical, telecommunication, consumer goods and large oil companies.

National legislators like to to raise monies through excise taxes. These usually have to be paid by companies. We can advise you on all issues that occur in this regard, in particular around energy and electricity taxes but also other excise taxes, e.g. tobacco, nuclear fuel, air passenger, alcohol and insurance taxes. Our advice ranges from issues surrounding the creation of the tax liability, through the amount to be paid, up to exemptions and rebates as well as criminal procedures. We can advise your company before disputes arise and we will represent you in administrative and judicial procedures before customs authorities and financial courts.

We will advise your company on all EU market organisation issues, in particular with regard to the European sugar market, from production levies over export refunds to quota matters. We will represent you in administrative proceedings as well as before EU and national courts.

We can advise you in all aspects of WTO law, including the main agreements (WTO, GATT, GATS) as well as more particular contracts such as TRIPS, GPA, DSU and bilateral treaties.

We will advise your company in all export control questions and help you to assess whether exporting or transporting certain products is prohibited or subject to authorisations. We will also assist you in case something went wrong during the export procedure.

We advise on all UN, EU, and national sanctions matters. We have a particular focus on the economically important EU sanctions on Iran, Syria, and Russia. We also help our clients – especially those based in the EU – in dealing with anti-boycott rules, be it in the context of M&A transactions or contractual matters.

We have been co-authors of the Lexology Panoramic (formerly GTDT): Sanctions Guide since 2021.

We can advise you on transactions that may be subject to foreign investment control by the competent national authorities, in Germany the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action. We can assist you in drafting the correct wording of the agreements and represent you in the clearance procedure before the national authorities, including negotiations on commitments.

We have been co-authors of the Lexology Panoramic (formerly GTDT): Foreign Investment Review Guide since 2019.

Public prosecutors and specialised financial administration authorities have increasingly started to initiate criminal and administrative offence proceedings because of suspected infringements of international trade provisions. We know what to bear in mind in these proceedings and can guide your company safely through them.

Art and cultural property law covers a broad range of legal questions concerning the art market and the traffic of cultural goods. We advise you in disputes concerning the export control of cultural goods, customs law as well as all other legal topics in relation to artworks (e.g. procurement of commissioned art projects, handling forgeries, questions of authenticity and authentification, restitution claims, structuring gallery contracts, handling complex art transactions).