Sanctions and Embargos – 5th Berlin meetings of GvW Graf von Westphalen about the topic of export controls

Companies need reliability and foreseeability when applying embargos with regard to countries and persons. The participants in the 5th Berlin discussions conducted by GvW Graf von Westphalen drew this conclusion yesterday. Together with the Deutsche Industrie- und Handelskammertage e.V. (DIHK – Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce), the law firm invited experts from the export field to the German Parliamentary Society on the occasion of the Europa convention on 9 May in order to discuss sanctions and embargos as a means of international export control policy.

The main emphasis of the discussion was the issue about how the need for security can be sensibly reconciled with free trade. The issue is of extreme importance for German industry in light of worldwide terrorism and numerous crisis areas, particularly since the sanctions also can involve goods which do not represent a direct, military threat.

After Alexander Gamal Radwan, member of the Foreign Relations Committee of the lower house of the German Parliament outlined in his keynote address the foreign policy situation, Dr. Werner Schnappauf, GvW partner and former state minister led the discussion between the speakers and the audience through three areas. What is the current situation in countries with existing sanctions such as e.g. Russia? What does the loosened Iran embargo mean for the German economy? How can companies protect themselves using export compliance?

The participants in the panel were Dr. Arnold Wallraff, president of the Federal Office for Economics and Export Controls (BAFA), Dr. Bernhard Schlagheck, responsible for export controls in the Foreign Office, Dipl. Ing. Martin Johannsmann, Chairman of the Executive Board of SKF Marine GmbH as well as Dr. Lothar Harings, GvW practice group head in the area of customs and foreign trade law. Marian Niestedt, a specialist at GvW in foreign trade and customs law gave the welcoming address.

GvW was designated in the JUVE hand book for Commercial Law Firms 2015 as one of two “leading foreign trade law practices in the market” in Germany in the area of exports. In addition to export controls and the law governing sanctions, the nine person foreign trade team of attorneys in the law firm deals especially with the areas of customs, anti-dumping, foreign trade, the law of the WTO, value added tax law and consumer tax law as well as energy tax law (more).  Dr. Lothar Harings and Marian Niestedt are listed by JUVE as “leading names” in export control law.