Tag Archives: WTO

Mark Warner was interviewed on BNNBloomberg talking about the risks of the United States retaliating against Canada for implementing a new Digital Services Tax on large US companies and requiring foreign streaming platforms to pay into a fund to support Canadian music, TV, film & radio under the new Online Streaming Act. (July 5, 2024) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations. As counsel at the OECD Trade Directorate, Mark advised on harmful tax competition issues and worked on other trade and competition issues, participated in the negotiations of the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment and represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Groups on Trade and Competition Policies and Trade and Investment Policies.

As Legal Director for the Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation, Mr. Warner led Ontario’s legal team in creating the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund, the $205 million Ontario Venture Capital Fund focused, in part, on the digital media and information and communications technology sectors. As Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade provided strategic legal advice with respect to the Ontario’s economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to leading ICT and digital media companies and led Ontario’s legal team in respect of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic & Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations including with respect to the Intellectual Property Chapter.

Mark’s experience with online technologies and e-commerce includes: participating in OECD-wide policy work on laws and regulations affecting e-commerce, acting as Chair, ICC Competition Commission Working Party on E-Commerce and Competition Policy, serving as an original ICANN domain name dispute resolution arbitrator for eResolution and WIPO and as Rapporteur of the Hague Conference on Private International Law Commission on Jurisdiction for Torts in Electronic Commerce.

Mark Warner was featured in a CBC News article about the risks of possible U.S. trade challenges under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement), the USMCA or Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to Quebec’s Bill 96 language law as it affects common law trademarks. (June 11, 2024) Interestingly, there is no mention of Quebec’s Bill 96 language law common law trademark concerns in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s 2024 Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property Protection and Enforcement released in April keeping Canada on the “Special 301 Watch List”.

Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations. As Legal Director for the Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation, Mr. Warner led Ontario’s legal team in creating the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund, the $205 million Ontario Venture Capital Fund focused, in part, on the digital media and information and communications technology sectors. As Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade provided strategic legal advice with respect to the Ontario’s economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to leading ICT and digital media companies and led Ontario’s legal team in respect of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic & Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations including with respect to the Intellectual Property Chapter.

Mark’s experience with online technologies and e-commerce includes: participating in OECD-wide policy work on laws and regulations affecting e-commerce, acting as Chair, ICC Competition Commission Working Party on E-Commerce and Competition Policy, serving as an original ICANN domain name dispute resolution arbitrator for eResolution and WIPO and as Rapporteur of the Hague Conference on Private International Law Commission on Jurisdiction for Torts in Electronic Commerce.

As counsel at the OECD Trade Directorate, Mark advised on harmful tax competition issues and worked on other trade and competition issues, participated in the negotiations of the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment and represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Groups on Trade and Competition Policies and Trade and Investment Policies.

Mark Warner was interviewed on BNNBloomberg about the United Kingdom pausing bilateral trade talks with Canada over an impasse over Canadian dairy quotas and UK beef standards and a looming deadline for rules of origin for autos parts. (January 26, 2024) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels and has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and has 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.

Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and advised Ontario in the CETA negotiations, including with respect to Trade in Alcoholic Beverages and Monopolies and State Enterprises and on IP, Patent Litigation and Drug Reimbursement issues, Cross Border Trade in Services; Temporary Entry and Stay of Natural Persons for Business Purposes, Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications, and Regulatory Cooperation. As Legal Director also led Ontario’s legal team for the negotiation of the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement, advised on trade disputes (including the Green Energy Act and softwood lumber) and various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state arbitration matters.

As a partner in a leading boutique law firm in Brussels specializing in European and international law, Mr. Warner negotiated with European Commission Competition officials the first ever notified merger of companies from accession countries (Polish and Czech oil companies) following EU ion in 2004.

Mark Warner was interviewed on Newstalk 1010 in Toronto about the United Kingdom pausing it’s bilateral trade negotiations with Canada. (January 25, 2024) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels and has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and has 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.

Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and advised Ontario in the CETA negotiations, including with respect to Trade in Alcoholic Beverages and Monopolies and State Enterprises and on IP, Patent Litigation and Drug Reimbursement issues, Cross Border Trade in Services; Temporary Entry and Stay of Natural Persons for Business Purposes, Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications, and Regulatory Cooperation. As Legal Director also led Ontario’s legal team for the negotiation of the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement, advised on trade disputes (including the Green Energy Act and softwood lumber) and various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state arbitration matters.

As a partner in a leading boutique law firm in Brussels specializing in European and international law, Mr. Warner negotiated with European Commission Competition officials the first ever notified merger of companies from accession countries (Polish and Czech oil companies) following EU ion in 2004.

Mark Warner was interviewed on CTV Your Morning [at 1:50:53] about the United States launching a second dispute settlement challenge under the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) with regard to how Canada allocates its dairy tariff-rate quotas. (February 1, 2023) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels and has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate. At the OECD, Mark participated in the negotiations of the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment and represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Groups on Trade and Competition Policies and Trade and Investment Policies.

Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and led Ontario’s legal team for trade negotiations (including the Canada-EU Trade Agreement and the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement), advised on trade disputes (including the Green Energy Act and related WTO dispute settlement proceedings, and softwood lumber) and on various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state arbitration. Mr. Warner also led the Province’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler. 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 featured in the Globe and Mail potential sticking points as Canada and the United Kingdom begin negotiations on a free trade agreement. (March 24, 2022) Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and advised Ontario in the CETA negotiations, including with respect to trade in alcoholic beverages and Monopolies and State Enterprises and on IP, patent litigation and drug reimbursement issues. As Legal Director also led Ontario’s legal team for the negotiation of the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement, advised on trade disputes (including the Green Energy Act and softwood lumber) and various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state arbitration matters. Mr. Warner, a Canadian and U.S. lawyer, has previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate in Paris. As a partner in a leading boutique law firm in Brussels specializing in European and international law, Mr. Warner negotiated with European Commission Competition officials the first ever notified merger of companies from accession countries (Polish and Czech oil companies) following EU ion in 2004.

Mark Warner appeared before the Canadian House of Commons’ Standing Committee on International Trade as part of its study of the Canada-U.S. relationship and its impact on softwood lumber trade. (March 23, 2022) Mark’s opening statement is here along with responses to questions from Bonita Zarrillo, M.P. and Tracy Gray, M.P.

Mark is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, DC and New York and 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 also provides international trade and investment law advice to natural resources clients on trade agreements, trade remedies, sanctions, export and import controls, anti-corruption, corporate social responsibility and compliance issues as a colleague at Pilot Law which provides comprehensive legal services for developing resource businesses in the mining, energy and renewables sectors.

Mark was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and led Ontario’s legal team in the for trade negotiations (including the Canada-EU Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement), provided advice on advised on trade disputes (including softwood lumber and the Green Energy Act WTO dispute settlement proceedings) and advised on various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state dispute arbitrations (including the Ambassador Bridge, Adam’s Mine and St. Mary’s Cement).

Mr. Warner also led the Ontario’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler, and various grant and loan agreements to leading automotive and automotive parts companies, including to electric car battery manufacturer, Electrovaya and a Better Place demonstration centre and electric vehicle charging station network.

At the OECD, Mark participated in the negotiations of the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment and represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Groups on Trade and Competition Policies and Trade and Investment Policies. He is also a past Chair of the International and Economics Committees of the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law as well as a member of the Section’s Task Forces on Competition Policy and NAFTA and Antitrust in the Global Economy. Mark was also co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise (with the Hon. William C. Graham and Professors Jean-Gabriel Castel and Armand de Mestral).

Mark Warner was interviewed on TVO’s The Agenda about the intersection of sanctions, export controls and brand reputation in the decision of foreign corporations to pull back from Russia. (March 11, 2022) Mark, a Canadian and U.S. attorney, is a former Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and has 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, and participated in the negotiations of the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment and represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Groups on Trade and Competition Policies and Trade and Investment Policies.

Mark advises on foreign corrupt practices, foreign asset controls, anti-money laundering and export controls issues, including assisting various multinational firms in developing compliance programs in these areas. Mark has also participated in an international arbitration relating to the expropriation of the assets of a U.S.-based oil company in Libya and related issues under applicable sanctions and foreign asset control rules. Mark provides international trade and investment law advice to natural resources clients on trade agreements, trade remedies, sanctions, export and import controls, anti-corruption, corporate social responsibility and compliance issues as a colleague at Pilot Law which provides comprehensive legal services for developing resource businesses in the mining, energy and renewables sectors.

Mark 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 BNNBloomberg about Canada withdrawing Most-Favoured-Nation Tariff (MFN) treatment for Russia and Belarus in response to the invasion of Ukraine and ratcheting up of sanctions and export controls. (March 4, 2022) Mark, a Canadian and U.S. attorney, is a former Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and has 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, and participated in the negotiations of the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment and represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Groups on Trade and Competition Policies and Trade and Investment Policies.

Mark advises on foreign corrupt practices, foreign asset controls, anti-money laundering and export controls issues, including assisting various multinational firms in developing compliance programs in these areas. Mark has also participated in an international arbitration relating to the expropriation of the assets of a U.S.-based oil company in Libya and related issues under applicable sanctions and foreign asset control rules. Mark provides international trade and investment law advice to natural resources clients on trade agreements, trade remedies, sanctions, export and import controls, anti-corruption, corporate social responsibility and compliance issues as a colleague at Pilot Law which provides comprehensive legal services for developing resource businesses in the mining, energy and renewables sectors.

Mark 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 featured in a Financial Post article about whether Canada is likely to face more trade battles after losing the U.S. challenge to its dairy tariff rate quotas (TRQs) in the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) following a dispute settlement panel decision in favour of the U.S. with regard to the its challenge to how Canada allocates its dairy tariff-rate quotas. (January 13, 2022) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels and has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate. At the OECD, Mark participated in the negotiations of the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment and represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Groups on Trade and Competition Policies and Trade and Investment Policies.

Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and led Ontario’s legal team for trade negotiations (including the Canada-EU Trade Agreement and the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement), advised on trade disputes (including the Green Energy Act and related WTO dispute settlement proceedings, and softwood lumber) and on various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state arbitration. Mr. Warner also led the Province’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler. 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.