Europe

Trade for Development Initiative

The COVID-19 pandemic magnified existing inequalities and forced us to rethink and question the structure of our societies and economies. It has become clear that the policy choices that governments implement today are crucial to build greener, more inclusive economies that will chart the path for a more sustainable future. In this context, the Geneva-based Trade for Development Initiative continues to advance the critical sustainability agenda by providing legal and technical advice to government officials from developing and least developed countries, trade associations, and NGOs — specifically, how to better leverage international legal frameworks — with a particular focus on trade agreements, industrial policy, and green growth. Our client portfolio has expanded to include the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), the Royal Kingdom of Bhutan, the government of Mauritius, the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, the Bangladeshi Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the Convention against Torture Initiative, and the International Institute for Sustainable Development. More than 45 lawyers, economists, and trainees across nine Sidley offices have been involved, billing over 3,600 hours under this Initiative since 2018. Looking ahead, the Trade for Development Initiative is committed to support governments, policy makers, and institutions to not only getting economies and livelihoods back on their feet, but also safeguarding prosperity and equality in the long run.

Global Shea Alliance

Sidley has advised the Global Shea Alliance (GSA) on a variety of projects, including on regulations to expand market access in the U.S., providing analysis on taxes imposed for certain countries on the exportation of shea butter, and an analysis on how the African Continental Free Trade Area will impact trade of shea and shea butter on the African continent.

GSA is a multi-stakeholder, nonprofit industry association promoting sustainability in the shea industry, quality practices and standards, and demand for shea in food and cosmetics. The GSA has 560 members from 35 African countries, including women’s groups, retailers, suppliers, and non-governmental organizations. The GSA benefits West African communities who rely on shea nuts for their income, including millions of women shea nut farmers. Expanding market access helps increase demand, prices, production, and incomes for these farmers. The GSA’s partners are committed to the formalization and organization of women collectors, increasing their knowledge of shea markets, and promoting decent working conditions for all people in the shea supply chain.

Over the last nine years, Sidley has provided pro bono legal services to the Global Shea Alliance on a wide variety of topics. The projects include legal guidance to establish the Parkland Restoration Fund, production of a cookies policy for the shea markets platform, policy advocacy in the U.S. and India to open new markets for shea, and extensive economic analysis to show the impact of these policy changes on demand for shea from West Africa. In addition, Sidley is developing a manual to provide guidance on how shea businesses can capitalize on the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, as well as analysis of the impact of new tax regimes arising in shea-producing countries across West Africa.

Aaron Adu, Managing Director of the GSA, said that “demand for shea derivatives is on the increase, resulting in increased demand for shea from West Africa and the consequential improvement in the livelihood of women collectors as well as preservation of the shea ecosystem. The GSA has saved at least US$200,000 in legal fees as a result of Sidley’s benevolence.”

“Responsive and considerate, Sidley has placed at the disposal of GSA a range of legal experts in Europe and North America who are always on the lookout to support the GSA. The lawyers have always demonstrated a true and genuine interest in the success of the GSA projects. The GSA is grateful for this kind gesture which we cannot pay in financial reward to Sidley.”

— Aaron Adu, Managing Director of GSA

Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States

Sidley has advised the OECS for several years on issues relating to WTO reform, fisheries subsidies, and on measures designed to secure essential supplies early during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, our lawyers have advised the OECS on how to establish a regional Intellectual Property Directorate.

The OECS is an inter-governmental organization dedicated to economic harmonization and integration, protection of human rights, and encouragement of good governance in the Eastern Caribbean. The organization currently has eleven members, bound together not only by geographical proximity but also by close historical, cultural, and economic relationships.

“This ground-breaking work portends the creation of a new approach to the protection, registration and further monetization of IP rights. The Sidley Trade for Development Program is best in class and has provided measurable benefits.”

— Stephen Fevrier, former Ambassador to the Permanent Delegation to the United Nations of the OECS

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) is a trade association dedicated to promote the Bangladeshi apparel industry. Since its inception in 1983, BGMEA’s mission is to promote and facilitate the apparel industry through policy advocacy to the government, services to members, ensuring workers’ rights, and social compliance at factories. BGMEA collaborates with local and international stakeholders, including brands and development partners, to pave the way for development of the Bangladeshi apparel industry. Currently, BGMEA has around 4,000 registered garment factories. Around 40% of BGMEA member factories are knitwear and sweater manufacturers, and the remaining 60% are woven garment manufacturers.

In 2024, Bangladesh will lose its Least Developed Country (LDC) status — a categorization made under the United Nations classification system. As a result, Bangladesh will lose preferential market access into the EU under the Everything But Arms (EBA) program, under which Bangladeshi products were imported duty free. The loss of EBA preferences is predicted to severely affect Bangladesh’s garment exports to the EU, which accounts for 90% of the EU’s imports from Bangladesh. This, in turn, will significantly affect the competitiveness of Bangladesh’s garment exporters, and could have devastating consequences for Bangladesh’s garment industry. All this is happening against the backdrop of Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) reform discussions at the EU level. The current GSP program expires in 2023, and EU legislators are in the process of revamping it. In this context, Sidley's lawyers have provided advice on how BGMEA can best position itself to influence GSP reform such that it can continue to benefit from preferential market access to the EU, even when its LDC status expires.  

“The BGMEA wants to ensure that the government representatives should … be in sync with the private sector’s engagement with Sidley so that a common view can be developed,” said former BGMEA President Rubana Huq, who was quoted in "The Daily Star," a newspaper in Bangladesh. “Sidley Austin will help the BGMEA with framing the grounds based on the government’s extended Everything But Arms (EBA) engagement request.”