EPAM to hold the international conference <em>WTO: Venues and Dangers for the Russian Businesses</em>

On 28 March 2012 EPAM will hold an international conference with the participation of senior WTO and governmental officials as well as leading legal experts from Europe and the CIS.

AGENDA

Registration / welcome coffee (9:00–9.30)

Introductory word (9:30-9:40)

International Trade in Goods in the WTO (9:40 – 10:50)

• New rules of the game and risks for Russian companies within the WTO
• Accession of Russia to the WTO: results of negotiations and the agreed transition periods
• Foreign market expansion and the key risks for the national producers
• Changes in tariff regulation after the WTO accession
• Quantitative restrictions and import licensing
• Preferential tariff schemes in the Customs Union and in the WTO
• Case study: Preparing a company for work within the WTO context

Invited speakers:

• Speaker from the Trade Negotiations Department of the Ministry of Economic Development
• Alexander Zazhigalkin, Deputy Head of the Federal Agency on Technical Regulation and Metrology of Russia
• Vitaly Survillo, VP at Business Russia, Chairman at Espro Group
• Ivan Smirnov, Partner at EPAM

Coffee break (10:50 – 11.10)

Supporting Domestic Producers with Trade Defence Instruments (11:10 – 12:10)

• Antidumping, countervailing duties and safeguards as the major way to protect domestic markets from foreign competition
• Assessing the risks of antidumping investigations against the Russian goods abroad
• Peculiarities of trade defence instruments as applied in Russia
• Trade defence instruments in the common market of the Customs Union
• Investigations against Russian goods in the EU: best tactics for the Russian businesses

Invited speakers:

• Arnoud Willems, Partner, Sidley Austin LLP (Brussels)
• Speaker from the Department of State Regulations of International Trade at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the Russian Federation
• Gleb Bialyi, Counsel, EPAM

Coffee break (12:10 – 12.20)

Other Aspects of International Trade in the WTO. Risks for the Russian Companies (12:20 – 13:20)

• Protection of the national market of services in light of the WTO accession
• Consequences of the WTO accession for the banking, insurance and transport sectors
• WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism: protecting business interests in international trade
• New rules of intellectual property protection. The TRIPS Agreement
• The WTO Agreement on Government Procurement: prospects of Russia’s accession

Invited speakers:

• Peter Morrison, Senior Counselor to the WTO Trade in Services Division, formerly in the Appellate Body Secretariat as well as the Legal Affairs Division
• Scott Andersen, Co-Managing Partner, Sidley Austin LLP (Geneva)
• Vladimir Talanov, Expert of International Trade & Customs Practice, EPAM

Please note that the agenda may change.

We invite to the conference senior representatives of the large and mid-sized Russian businesses.

To register please contact events@epam.ru with your full contact details and job title in the body of the letter and with WTO in the subject line.