Bryan Cave FDA attorneys work closely with our global International Trade colleagues and Bryan Cave Strategies to interprets the legal impact of domestic and international laws.  We work with companies to secure exemptions, and with policymakers to address regulatory trends that impact supply chains and sales. We also work with clients to address trade and customs issues, tariff and non-tariff barriers, and sanitary and phytosanitary standards issues.  Our team works closely with the U.S. Congress, CBP, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Departments of Commerce and State, the WTO, and World Customs Council to develop strategies for reducing duties, and to identify and address trade barriers, whether involving the entry of a single product or a broad-based trade barrier policy issue that has international business ramifications. We follow and identify trends for numerous clients, and work to remain ahead of the curve in anticipating trends that will affect business in the future.

We have extensive experience in the area of U.S. and international policy relating to the regulation and trade of agricultural commodities, food, textiles, and plant-based pharmaceutical products derived from biotechnology as well as of other emerging technologies, most recently nanotechnology.

Tracking the evolution of these controversial issues from their inception, our attorneys and professionals from Bryan Cave International Trade and Bryan Cave Strategies have developed a thorough understanding of the regulatory regimes of many major U.S. trading partners worldwide. We also have amassed a vast network of U.S. and international contacts, and have compiled an extensive database of international regulations governing agricultural commodities, food, and plant-based pharmaceutical products derived from biotechnology, cosmetics, food packaging, and other products derived from nanotechnology. We address issues ranging from advising whether a product containing transgenic materials must be labeled in Peru to recommending how to arrange a transfer of sophisticated transgenic materials to China.

In representing clients in this area, we have attended and participated in numerous international forums, including:

The U.N.'s global food standards body, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, and its various constituent committees including the key committees on Food Labeling, Nutrition, General Principles, Food Additives, Contaminants in Food, Pesticide Residues, Food Hygiene, Food Import and Export Certification, and the Ad Hoc Task Force on Biotechnology

• United Nations (U.N.) World Health Organization
• U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization
• World Trade Organization (WTO)
• United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity's Biosafety Protocol
• International Standards Organization (ISO)
• U.S. Department of State International Economic Policy Subcommittee on Biotechnology Trade Policy
• Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
• U.S. Council for International Business Committees on Biotechnology, Nanotechnology, the European Union (EU), and China
• European Institute
• World Food Law Institute

As new policy initiatives are proposed to regulate food, agricultural commodities, and pharmaceutical products derived from biotechnology as well as the fast-growing range of products derived from nanotechnology processes, our attorneys and trade and legislative professionals are available to assist clients with their working knowledge of the issue and how it affects their industry.

Of particular note, the EU's passage of new regulations in the fall of 2003 presented yet another challenge for firms involved in the development, production, trade, and marketing of food and agricultural commodities derived from biotechnology.  Our team of attorneys is actively involved in the regulation process, from first draft to enactment, and has published scholarly analyses that are used in several law and business schools as syllabus materials. With these credentials, Bryan Cave is ideally situated to counsel firms on developing and implementing policies to facilitate compliance with the new regulations.

Our attorneys are among the most knowledgeable in the industry, having experience with the biotechnology regulatory regimes of more than 100 countries. In addition, our attorneys and trade and legislative professionals have been key players in the development of the food industry's strategy for handling the biotechnology regulatory regimes of many key markets, including Canada, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Australia/New Zealand, South Africa, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, China, Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Japan.

For more information, please visit the Bryan Cave International Trade website.