Posted by Woods LaFortune LLP on Aug 30, 2018

Michael Woods will serve as chair for the September 12, 2018 Intersection of International Trade Law and Aboriginal Law: Key concepts and recent developments, an upcoming Canadian Bar Association (CBA) webinar that will feature some of Canada’s leading experts in international trade law and aboriginal law. Vital issues including inter-tribal trade and the importance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) will be examined.  Michael has devoted much time to the work of bringing the world of Indigenous Peoples and international trade closer together and is honoured to facilitate a review of critical jurisprudence including Huspacsath First Nation v. Canada, Grand River Enterprises Six Nations v. United States, and Tsilhqot’in v. British Columbia etc. The team of experts from private practice, academia, and government will speak about the latest in modern trade agreements and the place and role of Indigenous Peoples drawing on the recent NAFTA experience and other ongoing and future trade negotiations.  There is no charge to dial-in for CBA members – for futher details see:...

Posted by Woods LaFortune LLP on Jul 3, 2018

The Government of Canada has finalized its countermeasures in response to U.S. Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum products: https://www.fin.gc.ca/access/tt-it/cacsap-cmpcaa-1-eng.asp https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/cn-ad/cn18-08-eng.html https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/dm-md/d16/d16-1-1-eng.html Canada also announced support measures for the industries affected by the U.S. tariffs: https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2018/06/support-for-canadian-steel-and-aluminum-workers-and-industry.html In the next few weeks, Michael Woods will be writing a series on the current state of Canada –U.S. trade on Canada’s online legal magazine Slaw.ca. Founded in 2005, Slaw is Canada’s largest co-operative legal publication attracting more than a million readers each year.  Michael and managing partner Gordon LaFortune are regular contributor as one of Slaw’s over sixty...

Posted by Woods LaFortune LLP on Jul 2, 2018

On June 28th the Forum for International Trade Training (FITT) confirmed that Michael Woods has been re-elected to serve a fourth term on the organization’s Board. FITT is a Canada based not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing international business training, resources and professional certification to individuals and businesses. It offers the only international business training programs and related professional designation (CITP/FIBP) endorsed by the World Trade Centers Association and the Government of Canada.  Michael is honoured to have been elected to his post by the FITT membership and looks forward to continuing his work with an organization whose international business training solutions have set the standard of excellence for global trade professionals across Canada and around the world. To learn more about FITT and its International Business Program — FITTskills  — see: http://www.fitt.ca/fittskills-faqs. During the last year the Board was engaged in the process that led to FITT’s formal partnership arrangement with Export Development Canada (EDC) aimed at delivering enhanced trade education to Canadian companies and trade professionals.  At the core of the partnership is the creation of the EDC-FITT International Trade Learning Centre (Centre) – a digital platform from which EDC and FITT will offer information, learning modules, and other knowledge-based resources focused on helping small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) go, grow and succeed internationally. The Centre will be fully operational in 2018.  The official announcement of the partnership was made at FITT’s international business conference, Your Future in Global Markets, which marked FITT’s 25-year...

Posted by Woods LaFortune LLP on Feb 16, 2018

Michael Woods and Gordon LaFortune of the Ottawa and Montreal-based international trade law firm, Woods, LaFortune LLP, are pleased to announce that they will be writing a new column for Canada’s online legal magazine Slaw.ca. Starting this Monday, February 18th, Gordon and Michael will offer bi-monthly contributions on such matters of interest as the ongoing NAFTA re-negotiations, Canada’s new trade agreements (e.g. CETA, CPTPP), current WTO cases, and latest developments in trade remedies, import and export controls, and economic sanctions. Founded in 2005, Slaw is Canada’s largest co-operative legal publication attracting more than a million readers each year.  Slaw’s team consists of twenty weekly bloggers and more than sixty columnists who have collectively published more than 15,000 daily entries about law and its practice. Contributors hail from across the country and around the world. Slaw’s audience is primarily lawyers, law librarians, and others working in or studying law; and the site’s aim is to “share knowledge, offer advice and instruction, and occasionally provoke.” Woods, LaFortune LLP is a trade law boutique that advises a global client base on the full range of international trade and investment...

Posted by Woods LaFortune LLP on Feb 13, 2018

Participating on behalf of client stakeholders and as a member of part Global Affairs Canada Indigenous Working Group, Michael Woods attended Round Six of the NAFTA negotiation in Montreal January 22-29.  During the week in Montreal, Michael had the opportunity to meet and exchange views with Canadian negotiators, the many other stakeholders in attendance, and members of the media [see photo of Michael and Don Newman].  On January 27, Michael attended a Canadian American Business Council (CABC) lunch where he met members of a senior delegation of the U.S. Congressional Ways and Means subcommittee on Trade.  The delegation was in Montreal to meet Canadian and Mexican officials and to get an in-person sense of the status of the negotiations [photo].  Led by Subcommittee Chair Dave Reichert (R-Washington), the delegation included Representatives Adrian Smith (R-Nebraska), Tom Rice (R-S. Carolina), Mike Bishop (R-Michigan), Will Hurd (R-Texas), Patrick Meehan (R-Pennsylvania), Bill Pascrell (D-New Jersey), Sander Levin (D-Michigan), Suzan DelBene (D-Washington), Terri Sewell (D-Alabama), and Brian Higgins (D-New...