Tag Archives: Trade Lawyer

Mark Warner was invited to react to about Prime Minister Trudeau’s comments about criticism of the North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in the U.S. election campaign in a BNN interview. (June 9, 2016) Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and advised Ontario in the CETA negotiations and on several NAFTA Chapter 11 Investor-State Arbitrations. Mr. Warner, a Canadian and U.S. lawyer, has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate.

Mark Warner was quoted in a Tax Notes International Article on the recent decision of the WTO Appellate Body on Panama’s challenge to certain Argentinian “defensive” measures on financial services and service providers from certain jurisdictions that do not cooperate or agree to information sharing in tax  enforcement. (April 19, 2016) The WTO Appellate Body circulated its decision on April 15th. The panel decision is particularly important in light of the recent threats by the G20, the European Union and the United States to sanction tax havens after the Panama Papers scandal. As counsel at the OECD Trade Directorate, Mr. Warner advised on harmful tax competition issues and previously worked on other trade and competition issues. Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade participated in the Canada-European Union Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations including the chapters on investment and trade in services. Mr. Warner advises governments and business clients on trade policy, trade disputes and trade negotiations.

Mark Warner published a Comment in the Globe and Mail Report on Business on recent WTO dispute settlement decisions relating to tax avoidance and money laundering. (April 16, 2016) The recent Panama Papers unauthorized release of confidential documents for many offshore entities has, like the 2014 LuxLeaks release, shone a spotlight on tax havens and enforcement co-operation among tax authorities. Two recent WTO dispute settlement panel decisions involving Panama are particularly important in light of the recent threats by the G20 and the European Union to sanction tax havens after the Panama Papers scandal. The first case involves a challenge by Panama to certain Argentinian “defensive” measures on financial services and service providers from certain jurisdictions that do not cooperate or agree to information sharing in tax  enforcement. The WTO Appellate Body circulated its decision on April 15th. The second cases involves a challenge by Panama to a compound tariff imposed on textile goods by Columbia to counter alleged money laundering. The WTO Appellate Body decision in this dispute is pending.

As counsel at the OECD Trade Directorate, Mr. Warner advised on harmful tax competition issues and previously worked on other trade and competition issues. Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade participated in the Canada-European Union Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations including the chapters on investment and trade in services. Mr. Warner advises governments and business clients on trade policy, trade disputes and trade negotiations.

Mark Warner was interviewed on Bloomberg TV Canada about the increasingly sharp rhetorical concerns about international trade agreements by Democrat and Republican candidates in the U.S. Presidential election campaign. (March 28, 2016) Mr. Warner advised on NAFTA trade and investment issues as Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and Ministry of Research & Innovation and participated in the Canada-European Union Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations . Mr. Warner has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate.

Mark Warner interviewed on CHED AM 630 in Edmonton‎ with host Ryan Jespersen about Canada-U.S. trade issues arising in the context of the Summit meeting between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. (March 10, 2016). The two leaders discussed pre-clearance measures for goods and people crossing the border and the possible renewal of the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement.  Mr. Warner also discussed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act signed by President Obama in February to facilitate enforcement of an 86-year-old ban on importing goods made by children or slaves. Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer and was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade where he advised Ontario in the CETA negotiations and on various NAFTA trade and investment disputes. Mr. Warner has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate. [Begins at 00:47 ends at 14:30]

Mark Warner was interviewed on BNN about the amendments to the Canada-European Union Trade Agreement (CETA) chapter on investor-state dispute settlement. (March 1, 2016) Mr. Warner, a Canadian and U.S. lawyer, previously practiced trade and competition law in Brussels and as Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade advised Ontario in the CETA negotiations and on several NAFTA Chapter 11 Investor-State Arbitrations. Mr. Warner has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate.

Mark Warner was interviewed on CBC News Network Power & Politics about the amendments to the Canada-European Union Trade Agreement (CETA) chapter on investor-state dispute settlement. (February 29, 2016) Mr. Warner, a Canadian and U.S. lawyer, previously practiced trade and competition law in Brussels and as Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade advised Ontario in the CETA negotiations and on several NAFTA Chapter 11 Investor-State Arbitrations. Mr. Warner has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate. [Watch from 16:49 to 24:54] 

Mark Warner served as a panelist at the All-American Regional Round (AARR) of the 14th annual European Law Students’ Association (ELSA) Moot Court Competition (EMC2) on WTO Law. The Round was held at the Faculty of Law at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario March 3-5, 2016 and Mr. Warner was a panelist in the Grand Final, Semi-Final and Preliminary Rounds of pleadings. As Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade, Mr. Warner provided advice to the Government of Ontario on the design of the Green Energy Act and related WTO dispute settlement proceedings, participated in the Canada-European Union Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations, and advised on various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state arbitration matters involving Ontario. Mr. Warner advises businesses and governments on trade negotiations and trade disputes. He also previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate where he participated in the negotiations of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment and represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Group on Trade and Competition Policy and the Working Group on Trade and Investment.

Mark Warner published an IRPP Perspectives blog and Huffington Post Canada blog on the judicial contributions of late U.S. Justice Antonin Scalia’s to the recognition of international comity to address longstanding Canadian and other foreign concerns about the extraterritorial application of U.S. competition, tax, securities and banking laws. Mark Warner is an Ontario and New York attorney specializing in trade, competition and investment law. Mark is a former Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade, has practiced law in leading law firms in Toronto, Washington, New York and Brussels, and has served as counsel to the OECD Trade Directorate in Paris. His work experience has included university research and teaching, and acting as an independent consultant to various foreign governments and international organizations. In 2015, Mark was elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Mark Warner participated in an International Trade Panel at the 2016 Asian Canadian Law Students Conference. (February 20, 2016) Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate. Mark has been an adviser to the Governments of Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam on competition and trade policy and at the invitation of the U.S. Department of State lectured in five cities in Japan on international antitrust law and policy. As Assistant Director of the University of Baltimore’s Centre for International and Comparative Law, Mark hired a Chinese scholar to begin a research program on reforming anti-monopoly law in China, one of the first such efforts at the time. He is frequently interviewed in print, radio and television on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement.