Paolo is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in international trade law at the University of Bern, Switzerland and has authored or co-authored a number of articles and legal essays (see below).  He is a regular speaker at conferences around the world on international trade issues and sits, on behalf of clients, in various negotiating committees and working groups (at UPU, PostEurop and ESF level).  Paolo is also a frequent lecturer in a number of Universities on issues of WTO law and dispute settlement.  Since 2002, he teaches a course on “Tariffs, Quantitative Restrictions and Voluntary Export Restraints” at the World Trade Institute in Berne, Switzerland.

Publications:

“The European Union and the WTO Dispute Settlement Procedure as Applied to Agriculture”, Working Paper commissioned by the European Parliament’s Directorate General for Research, AGRI 115/rev EN, March 1999.

“Terminal Dues under the UPU Convention and the GATS: An Overview of the Rules and of their Compatibility”, Fordham International Law Journal, Vol. 23, March 2000, No. 3.

“The Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement”, ERA - Forum, Vol. 4, 2001, Pag. 118 -129.

“An Agricultural Safeguard Mechanism for Developing Countries”, Study commissioned by the UK Department for International Development, August 2002.

“Vietnam’s Implementation of the Transparency Provisions under the TBT and SPS Agreement”, MUTRAP, November 2003.

“The EC Traceability and Equivalence Rules in Light of the SPS Agreement: A Review of the Main Legal Issues”, Study commissioned by CTA (Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU), December 2003.

“Repertorio dell’attività giurisdizionale dell’Organizzazione Mondiale del Commercio”, Contratto e impresa / Europa, vol. 1/2004, p. 594-608.

“Understanding Rules of Origin: the Coffee Example”, International Trade Law and Regulation, Sweet & Maxwell, October 2004, Vol. 10 Issue 5.

“WTO Negotiations with Respect to Geographical Indications and Russia’s Position on the Protection of Appellations of Origin”, Review of Central and East European Law, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, November 2004, Vol. 29, No. 4, Pag. 475-496.

“Financial Services in the Current WTO Services Negotiations”, European Banking and Financial Law Journal (EUREDIA), Bruylant, November 2004, Vol. 2004/3.

“Repertorio dell’attività giurisdizionale dell’Organizzazione Mondiale del Commercio”, Contratto e impresa / Europa, CEDAM, January-June 2004, Vol. 1, Pag. 594-608.

“Competition Issues of Energy Market Liberalisation”, Study commissioned by the Energy Charter Secretariat, January 2005.

“Energy Services in the Current Round of WTO Negotiations”, International Trade Law and Regulation, Sweet & Maxwell, May 2005, Vol. 11 Issue 3.

“Application of Rules of Origin to Agricultural Products”, in “Agriculture in WTO Law”, Cameron May Ltd, July 2005.

Section on “Article 56, Free Movement of Capital and Payments” in the Treatise on “The Law of the European Union” edited by Smit, Herzog, Campbell and Zagel and published by LexisNexis, Matthew Bender in April 2006.

“Geographical Indications and the Interface between Trade Mark Protection and Sui Generis Protection: The Example of China, Thailand and Vietnam”, International Trade Law and Regulation, Sweet & Maxwell, July 2006, Vol. 12 Issue 4.

“Private Voluntary Standards within the WTO Multilateral Framework”, Legal analysis in the study commissioned by the United Kingdom Department for International Development under the Programme of Advisory and Support Services (WTO document G/SPS/GEN/802 of 9 October 2007).

“Repertorio dell’attività giurisdizionale dell’Organizzazione Mondiale del Commercio”, Contratto e impresa / Europa, CEDAM, July-December 2006, Vol. 2, Pag. 1015-1074.

“Repertorio dell’attività giurisdizionale dell’Organizzazione Mondiale del Commercio”, Contratto e impresa / Europa, CEDAM, July-December 2007, Vol. 2, Pag. 1121-1149.

“Vietnam’s Agriculture and WTO Accession: Some Reflections on SPS/TBT Trade Facilitation through Equivalence and Mutual Recognition”, in “New Reflections on International Trade: Essays on Agriculture, WTO Accession and Systemic Issues” edited by Jeremy Streatfeild and Simon Lacey, published by Cameron May, 2008, p. 319-366.

Paolo R. Vergano

Paolo R. Vergano is a partner in the firm, where he deals mainly with international trade (i.e., general EU and WTO law, dispute settlement and trade negotiation in the areas of agriculture and services). Paolo is admitted in Belgium and is a member of the Brussels Bar (“A” list).

Paolo graduated at the School of Law of the University of Torino, Italy (1995) and holds a Master’s degree in International Business and Trade Law from the University of Fordham’s School of Law in New York, USA (1997). Prior to that, he had obtained an Erasmus Diploma at the University of Limburg in Maastricht, the Netherlands (1994) and a Diplôme Supérieur de Droit Comparé at the Faculté Internationale de Droit Comparé in Strasbourg, France (1996).

Paolo started his trade career in 1995 and has worked in Washington, DC and Brussels, Belgium.  He has been involved in a variety of projects on EU and WTO law and procedures, doing extensive work on international trade issues such as market access questions, sanitary and phytosanitary standards, technical barriers to trade, customs regulations, rules of origin determinations, preferential tariff arrangements and duty suspension procedures.  In particular, he has so far been actively involved in seven WTO dispute settlement procedures (at consultations, Panel and Appellate Body level), has advised many countries and private interests in WTO accessions and trade negotiations, and has participated in a variety of EU, DFID, USAID, World Bank, ITC and WTO trade-related technical assistance projects.  He is currently advising Governments and private operators on agricultural and services negotiations (in the postal, energy and financial services sectors) in the multilateral, regional and bilateral contexts.