International Trade Law

Globalisation and the liberalisation of trade mean that Australian companies competing in overseas markets are increasingly affected by international laws. Free trade agreements, bilateral trade relations and the growth of free trade areas continue to present Australian companies with enormous opportunities, along with new and complex regulatory obligations.

Corrs International Trade Law group provides specialist advice and strategies to assist Australian companies to maximise opportunities and overcome the challenges of competing in international markets. We have extensive industry knowledge and expertise and represent clients across diverse and multiple jurisdictions.

Corrs offers a wide range of international trade law advice and services on issues relating to:

• customs: including customs tariff classification, customs valuation and rules of origin issues, how to obtain custom duty refunds and concessions and representing clients before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the Federal Court of Australia in disputes with the Australian Custom Service;
• dumping: including the preparation of applications for the imposition of dumping and / or countervailing duties, representing importers and exporters in dumping and / or countervailing duty investigations conducted by the Australian Customs Service and representing clients before the Trade Measures Review Officer and Federal Court of Australia;
• safeguards: including the availability of safeguard measures to deal with import surges and assisting in the preparation of applications for the imposition of such measures, as well as liaising with relevant government authorities;
• WTO: including whether domestic laws and government policies and practices are consistent with relevant WTO agreements, whether government subsidies or quarantine measures are consistent with the relevant WTO agreement and, if not, what remedies are available, and what opportunities WTO agreements provide to businesses, whether in Australia or overseas;
• compliance programs: including the design and implementation of import and / or export regulation compliance programs such as the preparation of import / export manuals, product labelling and supply chain security requirements and country of origin markings;
• trade barriers: including the use of international trade agreements, free trade agreements and regional trade rules to minimise market access restrictions in export markets and reduce import competition;
• export controls: including export controls, both in Australia and in other countries, including the USA and the EU, dual-use and other restricted technologies and goods, controls and encryption in data exchange, and the export of equipment containing encryption technology.