Paolo R. Vergano is a partner at the firm, where he deals mainly with International Trade Law (i.e., general EU and WTO law, dispute settlement and trade negotiation) and Food Law.
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 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).
He is admitted in Belgium and is a member of the Brussels Bar (“A” list).
Paolo started his trade career in 1995 and has worked in Washington, DC and Brussels, Belgium. He has been involved in a multitude of projects on WTO, EU and ASEAN 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 nine 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 advises Governments and private operators on agricultural and services negotiations in the multilateral, regional and bilateral contexts.
Paolo is a regular speaker at conferences around the world on international trade issues and has authored or co-authored a number of articles and legal essays. He sits in the Editorial Board of the Global Trade and Customs Journal and is the Editor of FratiniVergano’s Trade Perspectives©. He is the 2014-2016 Chair of the International Trade Committee of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA). Paolo is a frequent lecturer in a number of Universities on issues of WTO law and dispute settlement. Since 2002, he is part of the faculty at the World Trade Institute in Berne, Switzerland where he teaches a course on “Tariffs, Quantitative Restrictions and Voluntary Export Restraints”. Since 2014, he teaches courses on “Trade Advocacy and Litigation Strategies” and “Non-Tariff Measures” at Universitas Pelita Harapan in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Publications
“Free Trade Agreements and Regulatory Change: Examples from the Generic and Biosimilar Sectors” (with Tobias Dolle), Vol. 51, Issue 2 of the Journal of World Trade.
“The Trade Law Consequences of ‘Brexit’” (with Tobias Dolle), Issue 4/2016 of the European Journal of Risk Regulation (EJRR).
“Taxing and Marketing Restrictions of ‘Food High in Fat, Salt or Sugar’ in the EU” (with Blanca Salas Ferrer), Issue 3/2016 of the European Journal of Risk Regulation (EJRR).
“Geographical indications, “Food Fraud” and the Fight Against “Italian sounding” Products” (with Ignacio Carreño), Issue 2/2016 of the European Journal of Risk Regulation (EJRR).
“Clean Labels and “Self-evident” and “Flagrantly Misleading” “Palm Oil-free” Claims” (with Ignacio Carreño), Issue 2/2015 of the European Journal of Risk Regulation (EJRR).
“Uses and potential abuses of ‘negative claims’ in the EU: the urgent need for better regulation” (with Ignacio Carreño), Issue 4/2014 of the European Journal of Risk Regulation (EJRR).
“Fossil Fuel ‘Grading’ and Sustainability Criteria for Biofuels and Bioliquids under the EU Fuel Quality and Renewable Energy Directives: Implications for International Trade” by Paolo R. Vergano and Eugenia C. Laurenza, in Global Trade and Customs Journal, Kluwer Law International, 2012, Volume 7, Issue 3, Pages 92-102.
“Food Irradiation: The EU Regulatory Framework, Risk Assessment and International Trade Considerations” (with Ignacio Carreño), Issue 3/2012 of the European Journal of Risk Regulation (EJRR).
Co-author of “The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA): an Assessment”, study requested by the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA), European Parliament 2011.
“Subsidies to Renewable Energy Sources and International Trade: Issues and Tools to Reconcile Trade Rules and Environmental Policies” by Paolo R. Vergano and Eugenia C. Laurenza, in Global Trade and Customs Journal, Kluwer Law International, 2010, Volume 5, Issue 6, Pages 223-236.
“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, Pages 319-366.
“Repertorio dell’attività giurisdizionale dell’Organizzazione Mondiale del Commercio”, Contratto e impresa / Europa, CEDAM, July-December 2007, Volumes 2, Pages 1121-1149.
“Repertorio dell’attività giurisdizionale dell’Organizzazione Mondiale del Commercio”, Contratto e impresa / Europa, CEDAM, July-December 2006, Volume 2, Pages 1015-1074.
“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).
“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, Volume 12 Issue 4.
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.
“Application of Rules of Origin to Agricultural Products”, in “Agriculture in WTO Law”, Cameron May Ltd, July 2005.
“Energy Services in the Current Round of WTO Negotiations”, International Trade Law and Regulation, Sweet & Maxwell, May 2005, Volume 11 Issue 3.
“Competition Issues of Energy Market Liberalisation”, Study commissioned by the Energy Charter Secretariat, January 2005.
“Financial Services in the Current WTO Services Negotiations”, European Banking and Financial Law Journal (EUREDIA), Bruylant, November 2004, Volume 2004/3.
“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, Volume 29, No. 4, Pages 475-496.
“Understanding Rules of Origin: the Coffee Example”, International Trade Law and Regulation, Sweet & Maxwell, October 2004, Volume 10 Issue 5.
“Repertorio dell’attività giurisdizionale dell’Organizzazione Mondiale del Commercio”, Contratto e impresa / Europa, CEDAM, January-June 2004, Vol. 1, Pag. 594-608.
“Repertorio dell’attività giurisdizionale dell’Organizzazione Mondiale del Commercio”, Contratto e impresa / Europa, volume 1/2004, pages 594-608.
“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.
“Vietnam’s Implementation of the Transparency Provisions under the TBT and SPS Agreement”, MUTRAP, November 2003.
“An Agricultural Safeguard Mechanism for Developing Countries”, Study commissioned by the UK Department for International Development, August 2002.
“The Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement”, ERA – Forum, Volume 4, 2001, Pages 118 -129.
“Terminal Dues under the UPU Convention and the GATS: An Overview of the Rules and of their Compatibility”, Fordham International Law Journal, Volume 23, March 2000, No. 3.
“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.