The Importance of Understanding Mandatory Requirements in RFPs
In case there is anyone out there who still doesn’t understand the importance of complying with every mandatory requirement in a Request for Proposals (RFP), the CITT’s recent decision in Falcon Environmental Services Inc. (CITT File Nbr. PR-2014-061) sends a very harsh message. In all cases, bidders have to identify the mandatory requirements of an RFP, understand and address the mandatory requirements in their bid and be able to demonstrate that they met all...
read moreGreece, Feta and CETA Implementation: Does the EU Need Trade Promotion Authority?
All credit to the Canadian negotiators who worked on the Canada – E.U. Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The CETA was the product of years of preparation and negotiations that began in 2009. The Canadian negotiating team identified Canadian interests and defensive positions and took those to the negotiating rounds to create the Agreement that was ultimately signed with the E.U. Like any other agreement, the CETA was the product of “give and...
read moreNon-Violation Complaints – A Contradiction in Terms or the Ultimate Reflection of the “Spirit of Free Trade”
In our recent articles on GATT 1994 Article XXI – the national security exception – we referred to the potential of a “non-violation” claim as a possible response by a WTO member country whose trade is affected by a national security exception measure. This is the first of a series of articles which examines the unique and rarely applied provisions of non-violation nullification and impairment (“NVNI”). We will start with one of the...
read moreOil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) 2 – Did Anyone Win?
Recently, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) determined that Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) imported from nine subject countries was dumped and the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) found that these dumped imports threatened to cause injury to like goods produced in Canada. Although this decision will result in anti-dumping duties and normal values being applied against OCTG imported from the nine subject countries involved in the case, the domestic mills who initially brought...
read moreThe National Security Exception Part II
In our recent note on the national security exception, we reviewed the text of GATT Article XXI, a controversial provision, and its implications in international trade. The exception under Article XXI distinguishes itself from other traditional exception clauses in international agreements in that it is purely self-declaratory in nature. Based on the rationale of preserving state sovereignty, a country’s decision to invoke Article XXI is subjective and has not typically been reviewable by international...
read moreSupply Management, TPP and a Discussion of Trade Policy
Recent reports on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations have suggested that unless Canada makes changes to its supply management system for dairy, poultry and eggs, it will be asked to leave or will be forced out of the negotiations. U.S. Chief Agricultural Negotiator, Ambassador Darci Vedder, has been quoted as saying that Canada has to make a substantive offer on supply management to remain in the negotiations. Ambassador Vedder apparently noted, “it is...
read moreProtecting Your IP in Global Markets
With businesses increasingly entering and operating in new international markets, proper and effective IP protection in the global marketplace has become a growing concern for many Canadian SMEs. IP can often be a company’s most valuable asset – it can strengthen your position in export markets and increase enterprise value. It is therefore very important to take the necessary steps to properly protect your IP before entering a foreign market. Don’t wait until you...
read moreSPS Measures: The Potential for Hidden Protectionism
The February 2015 discovery of a single cow with mad cow disease (BSE) in Alberta, the first Canadian case since 2011, and the decision by some countries to close their borders to Canadian beef, raises the question of whether WTO Members only adopt sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS measures) to protect themselves from imported diseases or whether these measures are sometimes used to protect their domestic commercial interests instead. WTO members have the right...
read moreCanada-China Trade – The RMB Trading Hub, The FIPA and RQFII
With the aim of increasing international business and investment between the two countries, China announced in November 2014 that Canada would be designated as an official Renminbi (RMB) currency trading hub. In simple terms, an RMB currency trading hub is a centre authorized to complete RMB transactions at stable and predictable exchange rates. The formal launch ceremony for Canada’s Toronto-based RMB clearing hub is scheduled for March 23, 2015. The process of internationalization of...
read more#CanadaBizGoGlobal – Doing Business in Turkey “…not just another country”
At Woods, LaFortune LLP, we are preparing with great anticipation for next week’s #CanadaBizGoGlobal Seminar Series presentation on “Doing Business in Turkey”, which will be held on March 20th, 2015 in Toronto. We are honoured to be working with Allam Advisory Group on this event and are delighted that the highly regarded Aylin Şule Songül, of the Istanbul-based law firm Songül Unuvar, has agreed to join us as a co-presenter, addressing the legal aspects of...
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