Tag Archives: Trade Negotiations

Mark Warner spoke on international sales agreements and business formation in a Kyiv Chamber of Commerce & Industry Workshop on Accessing the Canadian Market sponsored by Sergii Koziakov & Partners. (October 26, 2016) The Workshop was aimed at exploring opportunities for Ukrainian businesses to take advantage of the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) signed on July 11, 2016 and which will go through the domestic legislative processes to ratify and implement the Agreement. 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 Canada and European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and 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, including advising Eastern European countries on competition policy accession requirements in the context of the EC PHARE Program and other countries on European Partnership Agreements.

Mark Warner was interviewed on BNN about the prospects for the EU Council to approve the Canada-European Union Trade Agreement (CETA) following the rejection by the Wallonia regional assembly in Belgium. (October 21, 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 quoted in this iPolitics article on whether the EU Council needs to approve the Canada-European Union Trade Agreement (CETA) by qualified majority or unanimous vote and the prospects for provisional application and ratification of the agreement. (October 17, 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 BNN about prospects for a renewed Canada-U.S. softwood lumber trade war in the wake of the expiry of the one year standstill on U.S. trade remedy actions following the end of the Softwood Lumber Agreement on October 12, 2015. (October 12, 2016) 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.  

Mark Warner was quoted in this CBC News report about the leaked Draft Canada / EU  Joint Interpretative Declaration on the Canada-European Union Trade Agreement (CETA) chapter on investor-state dispute settlement. (October 7, 2016) The Declaration aimed at satisfying critics of CETA in the EU in order to facilitate agreement by the EU Council, Member States and Parliament and ratification by Canada and the EU addresses the “right” to regulate, regulatory cooperation, public services, investor-state dispute settlement, commercial use of water and the use environmental, social and labour-related criteria in government procurement. 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 participated in a panel discussion on TVO‘s The Agenda on what Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trumps trade and foreign policy could mean for  Canada. (September 30, 2016) 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. Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and advised Ontario in the Canada-EU Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations and on several NAFTA Chapter 11 Investor-State Arbitrations. He is co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise, has also published numerous articles and has been invited to speak at conferences around the world.

Mark Warner was interviewed on BNN about the announcement by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that exploratory talks on free trade will begin between Canada and China and the resolution of longstanding issues of access for Canadian beef and canola to China. (September 22, 2016) Mark also discussed the ongoing discussions among European Union Members and with Canada to clear the way  for signing and ratifying the Canada-European Union Trade Agreement (CETA) and continuing protectionist rumbles in the U.S. election campaign. 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. Mark, 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 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.

Mark Warner was interviewed on BNN about trade and investment issues  in the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s his first official visit to China. (September 2, 2016) In particular, Mark commented on Canada’s decision to apply to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the prospects for a Canada-China free trade agreement, ongoing bilateral trade disputes (e.g. canola “dockage”) and significant commercial contracts and agreements signed between Canadian and Chinese companies relating to auto parts manufacturing, autonomous vehicle R&D, coal gasification and private equity and venture capital investment in North American (primarily Canadian) companies in the health sciences, cleantech, technology, media and telecommunications, foods and agriculture, and energy sectors .

Mark was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and the Ministry of Research & Innovation providing strategic legal advice with respect to the Ontario’s economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to individuals, corporations and academic institutions in addition to advising on trade negotiations and trade and investment disputes. Mark  was responsible for the legal support for the creation of the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation, the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund and the $205 million Ontario Venture Capital Fund. Mark, 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 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.

Mark Warner was quoted in the Globe and Mail, the Chronicle Herald, the Winnipeg Free Press,  CBC News, CTV News, and Global News about Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s threats to renegotiate or withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the prospects prospects for resurrecting the 1987 Canada-U.S. FTA (CUSFTA) if US withdraws from NAFTA. (August 14, 2016)

Theoretically, NAFTA could remain in force between Mexico and Canada if both parties choose to do so. Canada considers CUSFTA as “suspended”, not terminated. It isn’t clear that the United States agrees with that characterization. Ultimately, the question of whether CUSFTA is suspended or terminated comes down to the intent of the parties as a matter of international law. As a practical matter, CUSFTA would only snap back if the new U.S. President agreed to that, and that could also easily be the subject of litigation in the U.S. or internationally. In any case, CUSFTA would likely have to be updated in some respects before it could come back into force and that would require negotiations and room for the “art of the deal” to be put to the test.

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. Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and advised Ontario in the Canada-EU Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations and on several NAFTA Chapter 11 Investor-State Arbitrations. He is co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise, has also published numerous articles and has been invited to speak at conferences around the world.

Mark Warner was interviewed on AM630 in Edmonton about  threats in the U.S. election campaign to renegotiate or withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). (August 3, 2016) 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. Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and advised Ontario in the Canada-EU Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations and on several NAFTA Chapter 11 Investor-State Arbitrations. He is co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise, has also published numerous articles and has been invited to speak at conferences around the world.