Global trade continues to increase, and with it, so does the frequency of international trade disputes involving a wide range of matters such as investor-state actions and assessments of anti-dumping and countervailing duties.  These cases are adjudicated in a variety of different forums and governed by a host of ever-evolving regulations and treaties. Canada’s own trade landscape has recently undergone significant changes with amendments to the Special Import Measures Act (SIMA) and Special Import Measures Regulations (SIMR); as well as with the ratification of several major new trade agreements, including: the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), with the latter replacing the long-standing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The financial experts at CHS are well equipped to assist in all aspects of quantifying remedies in complex trade disputes. Our experience includes mandates to assess damages in NAFTA Chapter 11 proceedings and providing testimony before UNCITRAL and PCA, including: Pope & Talbot v. Canada, where the claimant alleged lost profits suffered due to the shutdown of certain softwood lumber mills in British Columbia, and more recently, in a matter involving alleged losses resulting from a provincial government granting concessions to a pulp and paper mill.  We have also served as experts in several ICC and domestic Arbitration proceedings involving the supply and pricing of raw materials where the particular financial issues included: extracting relevant financial information from the Claimants, interpreting relevant contractual terms and estimating future losses.