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Clotilde du Parc

Partner

Overview

Clotilde du Parc heads the Geneva office of Van Bael & Bellis. Her practice focuses on international trade law, with a particular emphasis on WTO law, free trade agreements and customs law.

WTO and free trade agreements

Clotilde's practice is primarily focused on WTO dispute settlement proceedings, in which she counsels and assists governments. Her assistance covers all stages of the proceedings from the consultations to the panel and appellate body stages in original and compliance proceedings, as well as retaliation proceedings. She has assisted clients in a large number of WTO disputes involving a broad range of different substantive areas, including trade in goods, anti-dumping, safeguards, subsidies, technical barriers to trade and agriculture.

Clotilde also regularly advises clients on the compatibility of WTO Members’ rules and practice under WTO agreements and on issues relating to bilateral and regional trade agreements.

Clotilde closely monitors the negotiations that are taking place in the framework of the WTO (e.g. fisheries subsidies, e-commerce, etc.), enabling her to provide tailor-made assistance to clients concerned with these negotiations.

EU customs 

Clotilde advises clients on issues concerning EU customs classification, customs valuation and rules of origin.

She regularly gives seminars on WTO law and customs law.

Languages

French, English, Spanish

Recommendations

  • Best Lawyers for International Trade
  • Expert Guides for Women in Business Law
  • Expert Guides for International Trade
  • Legal 500 – WTO (Next generation lawyer)
  • LMG Europe Women in Business Law Awards – Best in International Trade nominee
  • Who’s Who Legal – Global Leader for Trade & Customs
  • Who’s Who Legal – National Leader for Switzerland (Trade & Customs)

Education

  • University of Cambridge, LL.M. in European and International Law, 2001
  • University of Louvain,  Master of Laws, 2000

Publications

Commentary on the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming) (co-authored with P. De Baere and I. van Damme).

Contributor to Van Bael & Bellis, EU Anti-Dumping and Other Trade Defence Instruments (sixth edition, Kluwer, 2019), the standard work of reference in the field of EU trade law.

Co-author of Export Promotion and the WTO: a Brief Guide, ITC, Geneva, 2009.

Bar Admission

Brussels

Expertise

Notable assignments

  • Assisting the Government of China in its successful challenge of the anti-dumping measures imposed by the European Union on iron or steel fasteners originating in China.

  • Assisting the Argentinean government in its successful challenge of the EU anti-dumping measures on imports of biodiesel from Argentina.

Publications and insights

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    • 31/08/2022
    • News

    Implications of the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism (“CBAM”) for Switzerland

    On 14 July 2021, the European Commission (“Commission”) published its proposal for a regulation establishing a carbon border adjustment mechanism (“CBAM proposal”). The EU CBAM will put a price on carbon embedded in certain imported products and is conceived as a measure against the risk of carbon leakage. That risk could arise if EU companies move their production abroad to avoid the costs of paying for carbon domestically (i.e. under the EU Emissions Trading System (“EU ETS”)) or import cheaper foreign products that are not subject to a carbon price in their country of production. The EU CBAM thus aims not only at preventing the risk of carbon leakage, but also at ensuring a level playing field for domestic and imported products. The CBAM proposal initially targets five sectors – aluminium, cement, electricity, fertilisers as well as iron and steel. In addition, as proposed by the European Parliament (“EP”), it could potentially also apply to hydrogen, organic chemicals and plastics. In the long run, its scope will be gradually expanded to other sectors covered by the EU ETS, such as glass, ceramics and synthetic rubber.

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    • 23/08/2022
    • News

    Proposal For A FDI Screening Mechanism In Switzerland

    Currently, Switzerland does not have a formal screening mechanism in place for foreign direct investment (“FDI”). However, in March 2020, the Swiss Parliament adopted a motion “Protection of the Swiss economy through investment controls”, thereby instructing the Federal Council to draft the necessary legislation on foreign investment screening. On 18 May 2022, the Federal Council initiated a consultation on the draft Federal Act on the Screening of Foreign Investment (Investitionsprüfgesetz, IPG).

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    • 19/08/2022
    • News

    Update – Switzerland Imposes Sanctions Targeting Russia

    In response to Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine and following the adoption by the European Union of sanctions targeting Russia, the Federal Council of Switzerland introduced a first package of sanctions on 28 February 2022 severely restricting economic relations with Russia, and with selected Russian entities and persons. On 4 March 2022, Switzerland approved a second package of sanctions, which was further updated with additional targeted sanctions on 16 March 2022. Subsequent additional sanctions, including new targeted sanctions, were adopted on 25 March, 13 April, 27 April, 3 May, 10 June and 29 June 2022. On 3 August 2022, Switzerland introduced the latest package of sanctions and, on 16 August 2022, imposed additional targeted sanctions. The applicable Swiss sanctions are set out in the Ordinance on measures related to the situation in Ukraine (SR 946.231.176.72) (“Russia Sanctions Ordinance”). Sanctions imposed by Switzerland generally fall within one of the four broad categories: trade restrictions, measures related to specific areas, financial sanctions and other restrictions.

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